Rishaw Johnson dismissed from Ole Miss football team
Following Thursday’s practice Ole Miss coach Houston Nutt confirmed that offensive lineman Rishaw Johnson has been dismissed from the football team and backup linebacker Brandon Sanders has been suspended indefinitely for breaking team rules. (more…) (September 9, 2010)
LHS atop Class 4A poll, plus today’s EAGLE Sports
The second Associated Press Mississippi Prep Polls were officially released yesterday and once again Lafayette found itself atop Class 4A, receiving 14 of 17 first-place votes. (more…) (September 8, 2010)
Ole Miss’ Ingram back at practice
Ole Miss’ beleaguered defense got some more good news Tuesday with the return of free safety Fon Ingram to practice. A day after senior defensive end Kentrell Lockett said he hoped to play against Tulane on Saturday, Ingram told the media that it was his goal to see his first action of the year against the Green Wave as well.
Rebel coach Houston Nutt said it was great to see Ingram, who missed the last half of summer practice and the Jacksonville State game with knee injury, back on the field. (September 8, 2010, Page 8)
Rebs looking to correct mistakes
Complacency and missed assignments seemed to be two of the biggest excuses given during Monday’s press conference with regards to the Rebels’ collapse against Jacksonville State on Saturday.
Several players in attendance said the team became too relaxed with its 21-point lead at half time and in doing so, “let go of the rope.”
Looking back, sophomore linebacker D.T. Shackelford said he hopes the team can learn from its mistakes moving forward. (September 8, 2010, Page 8)
Nutt, Rebels moving forward after loss
Two days have now past since Jacksonville State’s monumental upset of the Ole Miss Rebels. For Ole Miss coach Houston Nutt, the time in between the loss and the start of work for Saturday’s opponent, Tulane, couldn’t have been more relevant as he and his staff try to get the Rebels headed back in the right direction.
Nutt said that Sunday’s practice and film work that preceded the practice was very quiet. (September 7, 2010, Page 6)
Lockett glad to be back and focusing on football
Kentrell Lockett is always an easy-going guy. He likes to joke, keep things loose and most of all smile.
On Monday when he met with members of the media at the Indoor Practice Facility to discuss what the previous week had been like, it was obvious he had been through a lot.
Lockett, a 6-foot-5, 260-pound native of Hahnville, La., wasn’t just talking about football; He was talking about life, and more specifically, how his life was almost altered. (September 7, 2010, Page 6)
No more Mr. Nice Guy for Rebel coach
Ole Miss football coach Houston Nutt learned a valuable lesson Saturday afternoon in his team’s 49-48 overtime loss to Jacksonville State: You can’t be Mr. Nice Guy all the time.
There seems to be a sizable portion of Ole Miss fans who believe that Nutt was being a nice host by not running up the score on his former boss, JSU coach Jack Crowe. Whether Nutt intentionally called the dogs off or not, the perception of the fan base is the Rebels coasted in the second half so the Gamecocks wouldn’t be destroyed on the scoreboard.
Letting go of the rope, making the (NFL) cut
Following Saturday’s debacle several of Ole Miss’ players attempted to explain the Rebels’ second-half collapse.
Running back Brandon Bolden may have said it best when he said, “Sometimes you just let go of the rope.”
At the half, the Rebels held a commanding 31-10 lead. Not only was the Ole Miss offense scoring almost at will, but the Rebel defense was thwarting its Football Championship Subdivision opponent’s best efforts to march down the field.
Then, for whatever reason, the Rebels let go of the rope as Bolden simply put it. (more…) (September 6, 2010)
Late rally lifts JSU to upset of Rebels
The shock on Ole Miss coach Houston Nutt’s face following Saturday’s loss to Jacksonville State was as apparent as the 49-48 score posted on the Jumbotron at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium following the second overtime period.
The Rebels, a team that was riding a wave of positive emotion after Friday’s announcement that quarterback Jeremiah Masoli would be allowed to play this season, have suddenly gone from a team that some thought would win eight or nine games to one that some think may finish below .500.
Losses in the season opener always hurt, but a loss to a lower division team coached by Nutt’s former employer hurt even more, especially when the Rebels led 31-13 after the third quarter and had their chances to stop the Gamecocks in both the late stages of regulation and overtime. (September 6, 2010, Page 1B)
Ole Miss D can’t make plays late
A defensive unit that had returning starters up front and at linebacker was expected to lead the Ole Miss Rebels, especially early in the season as the offense and new quarterbacks found their way.
After holding Jacksonville State’s offense to just three points — the Gamecocks touchdown in the first half was scored by the defense — and 70 yards in the opening 30 minutes of play, the Rebels defense was shredded by JSU in the second half and subsequent overtime period.
Ole Miss ended up allowing 355 total yards, 21 points in the fourth quarter and 15 points in the overtime periods, including a 30-yard touchdown pass from Coty Blanchard to Kevyn Cooper on a fourth-and-15 situation and the game-clinching two-point conversion. (September 6, 2010, Page 1B)
