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1. The Grove Bowl is in the history books. That means the next time Ole Miss football takes the field for an organized practice, it'll be August and the season opener will be a mere month away.
I'm not big on spring games, and I think people who try to make sweeping conclusions from them reveal just how little they understand the sport. I will give Lane Kiffin credit, however, for turning Ole Miss' spring game into a party for the program, coaches, players and recruits alike. No one in college athletics understands branding better than Kiffin.
For me, that was the big takeaway from Saturday. Kiffin has made Ole Miss so very relevant. Outside of Alabama and Georgia, arguably the two most dominant teams in college football as of this moment, no program in the Southeastern Conference has more relevancy and brand appeal.
Sure, that's contingent on winning, but Kiffin has given Ole Miss a brand -- cool, fresh, hip, just edgy enough. Saturday was about fun. Recruits see that. That alone won't win recruiting battles, but it helps keep a program in the game while the other things are worked out.
Kiffin has embraced the transfer portal not only as a method of roster rebuilding but of brand building. Frankly, it's the stuff of genius.
All of that shined through on Saturday.
2. On the field, of course, all eyes were on Jaxson Dart and Luke Altmyer.
Saturday seemed to be a revelation of sorts for many fans, but if you've been following our coverage throughout the spring, you weren't surprised that Altmyer had a better -- albeit, conservative -- day than Dart.
Throughout the spring, Altmyer has moved the offense effectively, just not as dynamically as his predecessor, Matt Corral. Altmyer has protected the football, spread it around and made some plays. The staff has wanted him to be more aggressive vertically, but I think it's safe to say at this point that Altmyer is the leading candidate to start the season opener versus Troy on Sept. 3.
Dart has a live arm and athleticism aplenty. However, he's sometimes the equivalent of the hitter who goes to the plate looking for a home run on every swing. He's taking chances downfield, and that's leading to turnovers. Those turnovers would be quite costly in a game setting.
Both quarterbacks are young. In an ideal world, the Rebels would have a veteran who can manage the offense and guide Ole Miss through the 2022 season while Altmyer and Dart develop.
However, I don't think that's a realistic option at this point. I believe the competition will carry through the summer and into the fall. Both players have room to grow and improve, but it's obvious at this point Altmyer has an edge.
3. Of course, it's not entirely fair to judge the quarterbacks on the spring. Neither were blessed with a healthy, full wide receiver corps to work with. Jalen Knox was out with an injury all spring. Jonathan Mingo's foot injury is becoming a concern. Other young receivers, frankly, didn't exactly set the world on fire over the past five months.
Two transfers, Jordan Watkins and Michael Trigg, were the only real consistent targets. Watkins is a solid option, a guy who can make things happen from the slot and can also line up out wide. Trigg, meanwhile, has the makings of a future superstar. The big tight end from Florida via USC can do everything. He has a big, athletic body. He can adjust to the football in the air and he can out-physical opposing safeties. Kiffin has always been adept at using tight ends as weapons, and Trigg might be one of the most talented tight ends he's ever worked with.
Still, Ole Miss has needs at wide receiver. I fully expect Deion Smith to join Malik Heath as wide receivers transferring into Ole Miss in late May/early June. And Ole Miss entertained UCF transfer portal wide receiver Jaylon Robinson over the weekend. There was buzz late Saturday that the Rebels were moving close to a commitment from Robinson.
Before the spring, Robinson would have been a luxury. By the end of the five weeks of work, he has likely become a necessity.
4. Since arriving at Ole Miss in December 2019, Chris Partridge has been one of the Rebels' most dynamic recruiters.
It's paying off for the Rebels' defense and Partridge appears poised to make the most use of that talent. While so much of the fan and media focus was on quarterbacks, running backs, Trigg and receivers this spring, the Rebels' defense quietly had what looked like a dominant spring.
Ole Miss is deep up front and that's before Tywone Malone returns to football after the baseball season concludes. Troy Brown seemed to settle into a comfort zone at linebacker as the spring progressed and the Rebels are simply loaded in the secondary with a veritable plethora of players with unique skill sets.
Throughout the spring, the defense showed a penchant to get to the quarterback with an array of aggressive blitz schemes and create turnovers in the defensive secondary.
After two seasons of Ole Miss' offense being asked to carry the day, it's possible the Rebels are poised for a bit of a role reversal this fall. I won't be surprised if Ole Miss' defense is the lead character in the Rebels' story early while the offense finds its stride in the first few weeks of the season.
5. As I wrote on Saturday, I felt the biggest story of the weekend was happening off the field and not on it.
Four-star quarterback Jaden Rashada took an official visit to Ole Miss over the weekend, arriving in Oxford Friday before departing Sunday. Per sources, it went incredibly well, so much so that there was hopeful optimism in and around the program that the Rebels may be closing in on their quarterback of the future.
NIL will be a part of Rashada's decision, but there are plenty of things apart from money that will play a role. (Note: See how easy it is to use apart and a part correctly. Let's do this, America. This is something we can all agree on. It matters.)
Rashada believes he has professional potential. So do the key decision-makers in his life. Given that, what's most important for Rashada is to go to a school where he's comfortable, where he likes the coaches, where the offense fits his skills and where he can be developed as a future NFL signal-caller.
That said, there are major NIL players involved. Miami and Oregon are heavily involved on Rashada. Texas A&M could throw its proverbial hat into the ring. However, progress was made in Oxford over the weekend. The Rebels clearly want to recruit nationally, and being a player in NIL is part of that picture.
As evidenced by its pursuit of Rashada, Ole Miss seems eager to show its prowess in that regard as well.
6. Ole Miss lost two of three games at home to Mississippi State over the weekend, losing the series finale in heart-crushing fashion on Saturday evening.
The Rebels are now 6-12 in the SEC and in danger of not qualifying for the league tournament next month. Making the NCAA Tournament is still possible, sure, but the math is getting more and more difficult. Realistically, the Rebels would need to go 8-4 over the final four weekends, and when you factor that nine of the remaining 12 games are against Arkansas, LSU and Texas A&M, it's hard to find that combination.
The elephant in the room, of course, is Mike Bianco's future. I think it's fairly obvious at this point that barring a major turnaround in the final month of the year, change is imminent at the top of the program. However, what's odd, at least to me, is that some of the people who have most vocally called for change are fussing now that they're on the precipice of it.
I realize I'm talking about a minority of message board posters and some agitated voices on Twitter, but it's still bewildering. Bianco has been at Ole Miss for 22 years. He's never embarrassed the university and he's led an incredibly competitive program. I'm not sure what those people want.
If Ole Miss athletics director Keith Carter is going to be conducting a coaching search soon -- and I clearly think he is -- he's going to want the job he's offering to be as attractive as possible. Humiliating a man as respected as Bianco is in coaching circles on his way out of town wouldn't be part of that equation.
7. It's time for my weekly ranking of the SEC's baseball programs.
1. Tennessee -- The Vols are 17-1. Enough said.
2. Arkansas -- The Razorbacks lost two tight ones in College Station over the weekend. They're good, but great teams win one of those.
3. Auburn -- Butch Thompson's Tigers are 11-7.
4. Georgia -- The Bulldogs are a solid 11-7 and appear to have dodged a major pitching bullet.
5. Texas A&M -- The Aggies got some great relief outings en route to an exciting series win over Arkansas.
6. LSU -- At 10-8 in the league, the Tigers remain one of those teams that feel like they could break out at any moment and go on a run.
7. Vanderbilt -- At 9-9, the Commodores are just fine as they get ready for the final month.
8. Alabama -- One of the better stories this season, the Tide just hangs in there.
9. Mississippi State -- Give the Bulldogs credit. They simply had to win two in Oxford to have a prayer and they did. But that's all it is right now -- a prayer.
10. Florida -- At 6-12, the Gators are in danger of wasting a lot of talent in Gainesville. Forgive me for enjoying it.
11. South Carolina -- It's just not going to come together for the Gamecocks.
12. Ole Miss -- The Rebels are just about out of time.
13. Kentucky -- The Wildcats aren't good enough to win quality series.
14. Missouri -- The Tigers are a scrappy 5-13 team, but they're 5-13.
8. The moment of truth has arrived for former Ole Miss quarterback Matt Corral.
The NFL Draft begins Thursday night in Las Vegas and continues through the weekend. Corral is certainly hoping he doesn't have to wait until Friday to learn his professional destination.
"I'm just focused on what I can control," Corral said in an interview with Pro Football Talk. "I feel like I put my best foot forward on the work that had to be done during the (pre-draft) process. You can't control anything that happens from here on out, so just control what you can control, and hope for the best."
Corral will be in attendance at the draft with 20 other prospects who expect to hear their name called during the first round, a decision that could lead to a lot of unwanted camera time if things don't go as hoped.
"Well, like everybody, it's been my dream since I was a little kid," Corral said. "I'm in the position I'm in and I get to have my family with me. There are not many times in football where I get to have my family around me because I'm busy. This is a once in a lifetime opportunity, and I'm never going to get drafted again, so I thought I would do it how it's always been done and go to the draft."
The Athletic's Dane Brugler projects Corral to go No. 40 overall to Seattle. His colleague, Nate Tice, projects Corral goes No. 49 overall to New Orleans.
ESPN's Mel Kiper Jr. lists Corral as one of a handful of "moderately surprising" potential first-round picks.
For what it's worth, Brugler has three Rebels other than Corral in his seven-round mock. Brugler projects Sam Williams going No. 56 to Dallas, Ben Brown No. 141 to Baltimore and Snoop Conner No. 214 to the Los Angeles Chargers.
9. It's time to eat. Here's our resident Parisian chef, Burton Webb, with Taste of the Place, Lesson 132 — Paella.
With spring coming about, it is time for seafood. This dish hails from Spain and boy is it a good one. It is not as complicated as one might think and the possibilities for what you add to it are endless.
Tidbit #1: The broth has to be good. What I mean is that we are going to start with the veggies and seafood stock as the base.
Tidbit #2: You need to use round rice. This will give more evenness to the cooking and also the starch will pair better with the overall flavor.
Tidbit #3: You can put a number of different things in this dish ranging from chicken, seafood, or chorizo for that matter.
Tidbit #4: For the fish, shrimp, and mussels, they need to be added toward the last 10 percent of the cooking. This will ensure no over-cooking of these items.
Things you will need:
4/6 People
Preparation time - 15 Minutes
Cook time - 30 Minutes
An Ale Beer to accompany
Utensils needed:
Worksurface and pairing knife
Stovetop
Large shallow sauce pot
Measuring cups
Wooden spoon
Ingredients needed:
6 cups of seafood stock
3 Yellow onions sliced
3 cloves of garlic sliced
2 Cans of crushed tomatoes
2 Red bell peppers
1 Spoonful of diced pimento peppers
1 Pinch saffron
Salt
2.5 Cups round rice
24 Shrimp
1 Lb mussels
2 Atlantic Cod filets
2 Lemons
Mise en Plac
Step 1: Over medium heat, add some olive oil to the pan, followed by the onions, garlic, and bell peppers. Cook for 5 minutes.
Step 1.2: After, go in with the seafood stock, pimento peppers, saffron, and crushed tomatoes. Stir everything and then taste. Adjust for salt, normally 2 good pinches at this point.
Step 2: Add in the rice and bring to medium-high heat. Cook for 8 minutes. Lower the heat, stir, and continue to cook for 7 more minutes.
Final
Step 3: Add the seafood on top of the rice/liquid mixture and then cover. Continue to cook for another 4 minutes. At this point, serve up fresh with sliced lemons and add a little greenery on top to make it pop.
From the Mississippian in Paris, Bon Appétit!
10. We'll have coverage of Ole Miss baseball, football recruiting and more this week on RebelGrove.com. Until then, here are some links of interest to me -- and hopefully, you as well -- for your reading pleasure:
NFL Draft's best, worst classes: No. 1 is clear, but recent classes are climbing
College football coaches feeling brunt of nonstop recruiting - Sports Illustrated
The Bus goes to school: 'It’s abnormally normal how he fits in' at Notre Dame
Miguel Cabrera's journey to 3,000 hits comes with perspective
Why the 3,000-hit club’s door will be closed for a while after Miguel Cabrera
Myles Straw, Oscar Mercado and a Yankee Stadium 'beer parade'
The Giants would've loved to sign Seiya Suzuki; so why didn't they?
Cam Booser retired in 2017 and joined a carpenters union. Now he's back and throwing 100 mph
Trump releases audio that appears to refute claim he walked out of interview over 2020 questions
