Bowl ban 'sucks,' but Wilkins, Rebels have new goals
OXFORD -- Last month, Ole Miss' players, all of them nothing but bystanders during the 54-month investigation into the Rebels' football program, learned they would not be allowed to participate in a postseason bowl game at the end of the 2017 season.
The news was devastating. A day later, they were asked to move on and continue working.
They didn't have to look far for an example. Senior running back Jordan Wilkins learned last August that an academic snafu committed by an advisor had made him ineligible for the 2016 season. A day after hearing the crushing news, Wilkins was back at practice, working in triple-digit heat, helping his teammates prepare for a season he wouldn't be an active part of.
"Jordan has been an example to everybody here for how to handle difficult news," Ole Miss coach Hugh Freeze said Tuesday following the Rebels' sixth spring practice. "Sometimes things happen to you in life that you have nothing to do with, really. It's bad news and it's difficult to take and he has modeled how to handle those adverse situations. We just have to get him to the bus. I like what I see in him."
Wilkins said he thought about taking some time off in the immediate aftermath of the news last fall but he instead decided to just buckle down more.
"I just looked at it as another extra year to get a head start and prepare myself for this upcoming fall," Wilkins said.
That work appears to have paid off. Wilkins looks like a physical force so far in spring drills and he's clearly the starter at tailback as the Rebels ready for 2017.
"I'm excited to get back out there with my teammates and do something I love every day. It definitely does open my eyes a lot. I took everything for granted before that happened. That opened my eyes to how much I really love this game and how much it means to me, so I'm happy to be back."
Wilkins was one of the most vocal players on Ole Miss' team last month and he's continued to be an active leader this spring as the Rebels have been forced to recalibrate their goals.
"The bowl ban, it does suck, but compared to what I went through, but compared to what I went through before that, it's nothing, so I just brushed that off and really just helped my teammates get over that," Wilkins said. "I'm just excited to play 12 more games with the people I love and who I've built relationships with.
"It was tough. Everybody has a vision of going to a national championship and stuff like that, an SEC championship. That doesn't take anything away from how hard we're going to work, how we're going to push through. I think everybody's focus is to just wipe the table and that will take care of everything."
REBELS RETURN TO PRACTICE TUESDAY: Freeze liked the way his team finished practice Tuesday though he wasn't pleased with how it began. ...Freeze said quarterback Shea Patterson is still "hesitant" with some things in Ole Miss' new offense, but he said he believes he'll have it down by the end of spring drills. ...Freeze said quarterback Jason Pellerin is splitting time at tight end this spring, adding he "thought he looked really good today. He caught four balls. In one route in (skeleton work) I happened to see it was a read route. He understood what he saw." ...Freeze had high praise Tuesday for defensive back Myles Hartsfield, defensive linemen Breeland Speaks and Marquis Haynes and the entire offensive line, adding he's comfortable with the entire two-deep up front. ...Freeze singled out Rod Taylor, who is working at guard and tackle, as having an excellent spring. ...Freeze said he was happy for former offensive coordinator Dan Werner, who was hired as an offensive analyst at Alabama Tuesday. "I hates it's in the SEC West, but that tends to happen."
