Coach David Cutcliffe said he is confident Ole Miss successfully reloaded a roster that brought the Rebels its most successful season in 41 years.
Fans seem to agree with Cutcliffe’s assessment.
Assistant Athletic Director for Ticket Operations, Sans Russell, said Ole Miss football season ticket sales are ahead of last year’s pace by 267 percent, with more than 5,400 more season tickets already sold this year as compared to the same time last year.
Fans’ excitement of their team came from a breakout 2003 season.
Picked to finish fifth in the Southeastern Conference’s Western Division, Ole Miss claimed a share of the SEC West title with eventual BCS National Champion LSU, which was the Rebels’ first league football title of any sort since winning the Conference crown in 1963.
Following their 31-28 victory over Oklahoma State in the SBC Cotton Bowl Classic, the Rebels ended the 2003 campaign with a 10-3 overall record and No. 13 final national ranking.
Eli Manning was not the only Rebel recognized for a stellar season. Coach David Cutcliffe was named the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) NCAA Division IA Region 2 Coach of the Year.
Cutcliffe also earned SEC co-coach of the year honors from The Associated Press and was selected as the SEC Coach of the Year by his peers in the Conference.
Cutcliffe is optimistic about his team’s 2004 prospects.
“I felt like we had an outstanding attitude [this spring],” Cutcliffe said. “I think we have a good group of seniors again who set the tempo during the spring. I’m a bit concerned about the depth but everybody’s talking about our prospects. We practiced well this spring.”
The biggest challenge of the offseason for Ole Miss will be to get junior quarterback Michael Spurlock adjusted to his new starting role. In his three seasons at Ole Miss, Spurlock was limited to mop-up action when games were out of hand. How Spurlock handles the pressures of SEC football will be a major indicator of Ole Miss’ success in 2004.
Ole Miss will ask for more production from returning running back Vashon Pearson, who rushed for 398 yards on 94 carries and tied for the team-high with four rushing touchdowns, not bad for last year’s offense, which was a pass-first system. With Manning taking snaps for the New York Giants, the Pearson will need to produce more yards and touchdowns for the offense to be productive.
At receiver, Mike Espy, Mario Hill and former walk-on Matt Pierce will be needed to continue leading a group of receivers that averaged 286 yards receiving per game last season.
This past season, Ole Miss ranked first in the SEC in scoring with 34.0 points per game, passing with 286 yards per game and total offense with 433.2 yards per game. It is no coincidence that a strong offensive line was there to open holes for the running game and protect its quarterback.
The anchor of the line, junior center Chris Spencer, was recognized accordingly, being placed on the Rimington Trophy watch list for 2004 for the top center. Spencer will lead an experienced group into the 2004 season.
Cutcliffe got the production he wanted out of his defensive unit this spring. He will need his defense to step up, unless he expects his offense to produce 34 points per game as in the 2003 season.
“I am proud of our defense,” Cutcliffe said after one of Ole Miss’ final spring practices. “In a week’s time, there was a major difference in how we played defense and approached it – in the secondary, up front, and everywhere.”
Freshman Brandon Jenkins and junior Jayme Mitchell have both had impressive spring practices at the defensive line. This is what team needs from its defensive line, after losing defensive end Charlie Anderson to the NFL draft.
Jenkins, at 6-foot-5, 270 pounds, brings athleticism and size to the line, while Mitchell at 6-foot-6, 280 pounds, seems to be the mirror image of Mitchell, with two more years of experience.
Sophomore linebacker Patrick Wills had a good spring as well, which Cutcliffe was counting on. Wills, who is a sophomore, will lead an inexperienced group of linebackers into the 2004 season.
The defensive secondary will face the challenge of losing NFL draft pick cornerback Von Hutchins and the coaches seem to have done so.
Sophomore defensive back Charles Clark appeared in all 13 games this past season, but in a back-up role. Charles will likely line up on opponents’ second best receiver. Travis Johnson also will be counted on to line up against opponents’ No. 1 receivers.
Johnson does show promise, evidenced by his honorable mention All-SEC selection by the Associated Press.
It is likely kicker and punter will be the most reliable of all positions for Ole Miss next season.
Place-kicker Jonathan Nicholls will enter his senior season as Ole Miss’ career scoring leader. Nicholls won the Lou Groza award for the nation’s top place kicker this past season.
He led the SEC in field goal percentage at 86.2., going 25-for-29, and will be counted upon to do the same next season.
Senior punter Wesley Bryan will be the starting punter for the first time in his career. In his lone start, Bryan had two punts for an average of 44 yards. In the spring, Bryan has consistently averaged more than 41 yards punting.