Freeze stays consistent with message
HOOVER, Ala. — Hugh Freeze made an impression in his first trip to the Southeastern Conference’s Media Day on Thursday. Joined by players Donte’ Moncrief, Mike Marry and Charles Sawyer, Freeze fielded questions about his program while outlining details for the future all at the same time. (more…) (July 20, 2012, Page 6A)
Freeze wins a particularly important day in Hoover
COLUMN: HOOVER, Ala. —He was quick but not rushed, funny but not mocked, informative but not boring, and even managed to find the sunny side of inheriting a 2-10 program with a healthy SEC losing streak.
Measured by his own rhetoric, the consensus among a pool of over 1,000 media members jaded by three days of clichés and no sunlight was that Hugh Freeze won the day in Hoover. The SEC rookie head coach held his own, and maybe even then some during Thursday’s SEC Media Days finale. (more…) (July 20, 2012, Page 6A)
Rebs positive despite gloomy prognostications
HOOVER, Ala.—Setbacks and defeats suffered in 2011 and the season before for older members of the Ole Miss Rebels are expected to make a difference in 2012. That’s the way the players are thinking heading into the start of summer drills and after an more positive, upbeat offseason. (more…) (July 20, 2012, Page 6A)
Wilson, Hogs are focused on ‘12
HOOVER, Ala. — To say the last three months have not been a stressful and trying period for those associated with the Arkansas football program would be inaccurate.
What is true, at least based on the comments of the Arkansas players at Wednesday’s Southeastern Conference Media Days, is how well everyone has coped with the firing of former coach Bobby Petrino. (more…) (July 19, 2012, Page 7)
Shaw pushing himself to be better
HOOVER, Ala. — South Carolina was one win away from playing in Atlanta at the Southeastern Conference’s championship game for the second straight season in 2011. Nobody is more aware of that fact than junior quarterback Connor Shaw, who started nine games for the Gamecocks.
The 6-foot-1, 207-pound Shaw had his ups and downs last season in his first big chance to lead the USC offense. While he completed 65.4 percent of his passes for 1,448 yards and 14 touchdowns, and added another eight scores and 525 yards on the ground, Shaw felt like he could have done more to help the Gamecocks earn a spot in the SEC title game despite the loss of standout tailback Marcus Lattimore. (more…) (July 18, 2012, Page 6)
Newcomers greeted to SEC by absurdity
COLUMN: HOOVER, Ala. — For years, the dirty little secret of Southeastern Conference Media Days has been that for all its pomp, circumstance and record-breaking attendance, there’s not much in the way of real news that comes out of this event.
On Tuesday’s first day of the 2012 installment, the situation turned worse, as league newcomers Missouri and Texas A&M spent the day being pelted with one asinine question after another about the “toughness” of the SEC. (more…) (July 18, 2012, Page 7)
VIDEO BLOG: Lockett talks football at Media Days
Ole Miss senior defensive end Kentrell Lockett is known as a colorful guy. He is a reporter’s dream to interview because of his ability to articulate the finer points of the game as well as his candid thoughts on other things that aren’t always about football. (more…) (July 25, 2011)
Nutt focused on Rebels’ future
HOOVER, Ala. — Excitement for the start of a new season, rather than talk about last year or Mississippi State, is what Ole Miss coach Houston Nutt tried to emphasize during his visit to Southeastern Conference Media Days on Friday.
Whether it was his few minutes spent talking with media based from Mississippi and Memphis or his time spent answering questions from a room filled with reporters from all over, Nutt clearly wanted to talk about the future rather than the past. (July 25, 2011, Page 6)
OM’s Lockett seeks different results in ‘11
HOOVER, Ala. — Ole Miss senior defensive end Kentrell Lockett is ready for some football.
After missing most of the 2010 season with a torn ACL, Lockett was granted a sixth year of eligibility this past spring by the NCAA.
He has been cleared for summer drills that begin in less than two weeks and eagerly anticipating a new direction for a team that is trying to rebound from a 4-8 overall mark last season. (more…) (July 25, 2011, Page 6)
Six Rebs named All-SEC; UM picked to finish last
HOOVER, Ala. — Led by senior offensive tackle Bradley Sowell and senior defensive end Kentrell Lockett, the Ole Miss Rebels had a total of six players named to the 2011 Southeastern Conference Media Days All-SEC team. The team is selected each year by the media and a total of 167 votes were cast this season. (more…) (July 22, 2011, Page 8A)
