RebelSports.net - McCluster, Hodge key offensive resurgence

August 13, 2009

Neal McCready
Senior Writer

If Ole Miss' football practices were boxing matches, Tuesday and Wednesday would likely have been knockout victories for the defense.

Thursday's practice likely would have been decided by the judges. The Rebels' defense was still its active, swarming self, but Ole Miss' offense finally hit some of the big plays that were their calling card late last season when Houston Nutt's team won six games in a row and created the buzz that surround the program this preseason.

"The defense keeps getting the upper hand on us," Ole Miss wide receiver/running back Dexter McCluster said. "We have come in and step our game up. Nothing's given to us. We have to come in and compete. My attitude now is compete. Compete or go home. That's how it needs to be around here. We're not where we need to be, but we're getting better every day. The defense is stepping up real big.

"We made some plays. I don't think we made enough. We protected the ball a lot better this go-around. We have room to improve."

On Tuesday and Wednesday, the Rebels' defense turned turnovers into touchdowns. That didn't happen Thursday. Instead, quarterback Jevan Snead converted some third-and-long passes to Shay Hodge and Markeith Summers, and the Rebels' running game got big runs out of Brandon Bolden, Tim Simon, Rodney Scott and Enrique Davis.

"I was really excited again about another good work day," Nutt said. "I thought our guys really came out here and fought and followed our seniors -- Kendrick Lewis, Marshay Green and Jonathan Cornell and John Jerry, Shay Hodge and Dexter, those guys are just really leading our team and pushing everybody. We had really good tempo. We ended right and ran them pretty good. It was a good day.

"I was excited about how we finished today. We didn't throw an interception today, which was positive. The defense has been averaging about 2-3 turnovers a day. That means they are chasing the ball. The offense made more plays, and we keep working on third-and-8 and third-and-7 and third-and-5. We are doing better, but we've got a long way to go. We've got to keep working."

The Rebels will put on full pads for the first time Friday afternoon at 5:30 before scrimmaging Saturday at noon on the practice fields. Both sessions are open to the public. Beginning Sunday, the Rebels' practices will be closed to the public. Ole Miss opens the season on Sept. 6 at Memphis. The Rebels' home opener is Sept. 19 against Southeastern Louisiana and the Southeastern Conference opener is five days later at South Carolina.

FRESHMEN CONTINUE TO IMPRESS: It's becoming more and more obvious that Ole Miss' 2009 signing class, one that was ranked in the top 20 by Rivals.com, was probably underrated. That's not a knock on the evaluators at Rivals.com, either. Count the Rebel coaching staff among the surprised.

"A lot of these freshmen look good," Nutt said. "I was excited when I met with (the media to discuss the class) the first time, and I'm more excited now. We knew we had a good class, but we didn't really know until we got on the field how special they are. Z. Mason, Patrick Patterson, Terrell Grant, Ja-Mes Logan, those backs, Tim Simon, Rodney Scott, defensive backs Charles Sawyer and Ryan Campbell. Campbell is a physical guy. And Tig Barksdale, for a guy being behind and out of shape, is making some strides. D.T. Shackelford and Joel Kight, they are going to be outstanding. They are going to be dandies, excellent SEC linebackers. Emmanuel McCray and Bobby Massie are coming, and then Raymond Cotton made two good plays today -- what a specimen he is. I'm excited."

MARKUSON LIKES LOOK OF REVISED LINE: With Rishaw Johnson's demotion to third team earlier this week for a violation of team rules, Brandon Green and A.J. Hawkins have gotten a lot of work with the starting offensive line. Both players appear to be making the most of the sudden opportunity.

"A.J.'s done a lot of good things," Ole Miss offensive line coach Mike Markuson said. "He's physical. He had a good day today. Brandon's a physical guy. They're both effort guys. They're smart. We'll be fine there. We have a lot of confidence in both of them. They're going to continue to get better."

Green, a 6-foot-2, 300-pounder from Southaven, Miss., via Northwest Mississippi Community College, has dramatically changed his body in the past year thanks to diligent work in the weight room.

"He's a fun guy to be around," Markuson said. "Everybody likes him. He's serious. It means a lot to him. He loves the school. He's told me stories about dreaming as a kid about playing here. He's going to be fine. He's going to help us a lot."

Asked if Johnson is getting the message regarding his commitment to football, Markuson didn't hesitate.

"If I was a third-teamer, I sure would, for a guy who was supposed to be a starter," Markuson said.

Many of the fans in attendance at practice this week have been migrating to the offensive line work areas to watch freshman tackle Bobby Massie. Markuson has been watching the former five-star recruit closely as well. On Thursday, Massie took an occasional snap with the starting offense, though he's spending virtually all of his time with the second unit.

"We're taking baby steps with him," Markuson said. "He's doing some good things and some not so good. The speed of the game is usually what gets a lineman early on, there's no question, especially when you practice against guys like ours who are fast and moving around, but it's going to make him better. The more he gets, the better he's going to get. Watching the film every day, I can see it coming. We just have to continue to work with him. He's in the mix."

Markuson said freshman offensive lineman Emmanuel McCray might figure into the mix at some point this season, while fellow freshman Michael Brown is likely looking at a redshirt.

"You'd like to put them both in the freezer, but today, Emmanuel, in the one-on-one period, he came off the football with his hands inside and physical and I said, "Whoa.' It's in him. You just have to see how quickly they can progress. I think he'll be a great tackle, no question."

Markuson said backup offensive tackle Logan Clair is still "a work in progress," adding that he "still has to keep coming."

LOGAN LOOKING FOR SPOT: On Wednesday, Nutt said two of his freshmen wide receivers will likely figure into the rotation this fall. One of those spots figures to go to Patrick Patterson. Ja-Mes Logan is doing everything he can to secure that second slot.

"I've got to keep getting better, getting better to break into that core group," Logan said. "I'm adjusting to everything pretty well and understanding the plays and my assignments. ?Oh man, it's a great opportunity. Like Coach said, the opportunity is there to come in and play. The wide receiver group is an unbelievable group that is very talented. You can't go wrong with any of us."

REBEL RUMBLINGS: Nutt said linebacker Lamar Brumfield (hamstring) is likely out for a couple of days. However, the injury is apparently not serious. ?The news for linebacker Lekenwic Haynes (erratic heartbeat) is also positive. Nutt said the redshirt freshman should return sometime fairly soon, and the situation is not career threatening.

Nutt said the competition at running back is "a heavy battle right now. There's a lot of intensity right there. ?This Saturday will be a big step for (the entire group). You start hitting and things start moving faster. It will be interesting to see how they handle things."

Nutt said he's planning to continue to look at several options in Ole Miss' "Wild Rebel" package. The candidates are learning that being the "quarterback" in the formation is difficult.

"There are a lot of things, and it's not as easy as Dexter makes it look," Nutt said. "It takes time, and right now we'd stay with Dexter and Brandon, but we'll keep working a couple guys. Patrick Patterson is a guy with good ball skills that can handle it. A guy like Rodney Scott or Tim Simon, they are two big guys that can possibly do it."

Nutt said Ole Miss' reality TV show has been canceled. TruTV was going to chronicle the Rebels' preseason camp, but when it came time to start filming, Nutt had second thoughts.

"I decided not to do it on my end," Nutt said. "It was more me than them. I just wasn't comfortable with being miked up. Maybe one day, but I'm not that good of an actor. They did everything possible on their end. They were great."

HARDY MAKES BEDNARIK WATCH LIST: Ole Miss players continue to be nominated for some of college football's highest honors, and on Thursday, Greg Hardy made the watch list for the 15th Chuck Bednarik Award, as announced by Maxwell Football Club President Ron Jaworski.

The list is comprised of 55 candidates for the award, which honors the College Defensive Player of the Year.

A senior and two-time All-America selection from Millington, Tenn., Hardy is also on the watch list for the Ted Hendricks Defensive End of the Year Award and was included on most preseason All-America teams this summer. He boasts 32.5 career TFLs and 21.5 sacks, including an SEC-best 10.0 in 2007.

The Chuck Bednarik Award has been presented since 1995 and is named in honor of the former University of Pennsylvania and Philadelphia Eagle great. Bednarik is a member of both the College Football Hall of Fame (1969) and the NFL Hall of Fame (1967).

Semifinalists for the Bednarik Award will be announced on Nov. 4 and three finalists for the award will be announced Nov. 23. The winner of the award will be announced as part of the Home Depot ESPNU College Football Awards Show which will be held on Dec. 10, 2009. The formal presentation of this award will be made at the Maxwell Football Club Awards Gala hosted by Harrah's Entertainment Atlantic City on Mar. 5, 2010.

The watch list candidates have been chosen by the Maxwell Football Club's Selection Committee and the Maxwell Club reserves the right to make additions and subtractions to these lists as the 2009 season unfolds. All members of the Maxwell Football Club, NCAA Sports Information Directors, Head Coaches and selected national media are eligible to vote for these awards.

Rey Maualuga from the Southern Cal was awarded the 14th Chuck Bednarik Award for his outstanding performance during the 2008 season. Recent winners include Dan Connor (Penn State), Paul Posluszny (Penn State), David Pollack (Georgia) and Teddy Lehman (Oklahoma).

The Maxwell and Chuck Bednarik Awards are members of the National College Football Awards Association (NCFAA). The NCFAA was founded in 1997 as a coalition of the major collegiate football awards to protect, preserve and enhance the integrity, influence and prestige of the game's predominant awards. The NCFAA encourages professionalism and the highest standards for the administration of its member awards and the selection of their candidates and recipients. For more information, visit the association's official website, ncfaa.org.

OLE MISS TO INSTALL NEW TURF: Ole Miss officials formally announced Thursday what several outlets, including RebelSports.net, reported Wednesday, when the school announced the selection of FieldTurf to be installed at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium/Hollingsworth Field in time for the September 19 home opener against Southeastern Louisiana. FieldTurf is considered the world leader in artificial turf.

"After looking at all the different synthetic turf providers available, we felt FieldTurf was the best choice," Nutt said in a statement released by the university's media relations department Thursday afternoon. "It looks like grass, it feels like grass and it plays like grass. FieldTurf's track record and their client list are second to none nationally, and their product is a vast improvement over our current surface. We also feel that FieldTurf's commitment to player performance and safety was a major factor in our decision. We can't wait to get going on our new field."

"Vaught-Hemingway Stadium is one of the most historically significant stadiums in college football, and it's an honor to now be part of the tradition of that facility," FieldTurf CEO Joe Fields said in the same release. "We are pleased that the University thinks so highly of our product. Everyone at FieldTurf is completely committed to providing the Rebels and their fans with the absolute best, safest, world-class surface in existence. This should be of great benefit to Coach Nutt and his players."

"This project will cost approximately $500,000, and we are grateful to have two anonymous donors who are covering that cost," Ole Miss Athletics Director Pete Boone said in the pre-packaged news release. "Once again, our supporters are stepping up to enable our student-athletes to play under the best possible conditions."

Ole Miss becomes the first team in the Southeastern Conference to play their home games on FieldTurf. Currently, four other SEC teams - Florida, Georgia, Kentucky and Vanderbilt - practice on FieldTurf. The new FieldTurf at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium will replace the AstroPlay that was installed in 2003. The FieldTurf installation begins immediately.

Vaught-Hemingway Stadium was first built in 1915, and has a long history of playing its home football games on artificial turf. In fact, the stadium had been among the first in the nation to switch from a natural grass playing surface to artificial turf in 1970. Recent renovations to the stadium have included new seating, luxury boxes and a new high definition video scoreboard.

More than 100 top NCAA programs currently play and/or practice on FieldTurf including Nebraska, Ohio State, Michigan, Texas, West Virginia, Washington, Oregon, Wisconsin, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas State, Boston College, Indiana, Minnesota, Missouri, Texas Tech, Rutgers, Syracuse, Cincinnati and Louisville. Twenty-one of the NFL's 32 teams presently utilize FieldTurf in their stadiums and/or practice facilities. In addition, MLB's Tampa Bay Rays, Minnesota Twins and Toronto Blue Jays have FieldTurf at their respective stadiums.

FieldTurf offers industry-leading engineering and manufacturing resources, unparalleled leasing and financing capabilities and leads the synthetic turf industry with regard to setting higher environmental standards. FieldTurf is the global market leader in terms of synthetic sports fields with over 3,000 fields installed. Additionally, FieldTurf has attained over 12,000 satisfied customers in high quality pet, residential, commercial and municipal landscaping solutions, playground surfacing and has a complete range of golf and tennis products. FieldTurf synthetic turf customers enjoy the benefits of significantly reduced water consumption, the elimination of fertilizer and pesticides, superior durability and drainage and a product that looks and feels real. The positive environmental impact of FieldTurf provides the added benefit of LEED building contributions.

FieldTurf is part of Tarkett Sports, a Division of the Tarkett Group. Tarkett Sports is the largest entity in the sports and landscape surfacing industries. Included within the Tarkett Sports portfolio is an impressive range of performance sports flooring products. This product range includes: synthetic and hardwood basketball; volleyball and gymnasium flooring; squash and racquetball courts; floor protection and covering systems; weight room flooring; and high performance indoor and outdoor running tracks, featuring Beynon track surfaces. All Tarkett Sports surfaces are developed, produced and installed with a concentration on sustainability and a commitment to protecting the environment, providing additional LEED contribution opportunities for customers. The company calls this focus on sustainability and the environment 'Environmental Intelligence' and all company personnel strive to exemplify this philosophy in all aspects of the business. For more information, please visit www.fieldturf.com.

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