HOOVER, Ala. – Ole Miss football coach Hugh Freeze has dubbed “chasing greatness” as the theme for his 2015 Rebels. But last year, it was evident Ole Miss was very close to actually achieving greatness – something it hadn’t been in position to do in quite a long time.
The Rebels surged to a 7-0 start in 2014, including a 23-17 win against then-No. 3 ranked Alabama. Even a 10-7 loss road against LSU – their first of the year – didn’t seem to take the wind out their sails against Auburn the following week.
But tragedy and heartbreak worked in tandem in the fourth quarter of that Nov. 1 matchup. Stud sophomore receiver Laquon Treadwell broke his leg and dislocated his ankle on a tackle just inches away from the goal line, causing him to fumble the ball with under two minutes remaining.
The emotions of losing one of its best players for the year and the gut-wrenching conference defeat put a damper on a promising season for Ole Miss, which finished off the year 2-2.
“There was so much riding on that evening [against Auburn],” Freeze said. “You had the No. 3 and the No. 4 teams playing, the winner of that has two games left. That puts you in position to play in the first ever BCS playoff. For it to happen like it did, adversity is certainly a teaching tool. But the next week, I don’t know – I tried everything in the world, but I didn’t sense that we could rebound from it.”
Now, Freeze and the Rebels feels as if they have hit the reset button, especially with signs indicating to a full recovery for Treadwell. The question, though, facing Freeze in the offseason is who will replace Bo Wallace at quarterback.
Despite some uneven performances, Wallace was one of the more productive players to ever play the position at the school and aided the program’s resurgence under Freeze. The fourth-year coach is considering three players to be Wallace’s successor, but none has emerged as a true front runner.
Freeze did say sophomore Ryan Buchanan was “a little ahead” of sophomore DeVante Kincade and junior transfer Chad Kelly following spring practices. Despite a troubled past, many believe the strong-armed Kelly will ultimately win the job.
“[Kelly is] making good decisions,” said junior tight end Evan Engram. “He’s staying out of trouble, staying away from possible things that could get him in trouble. He’s made a good turnaround in terms of becoming a good leader and built a lot of chemistry with us as offense and a team. He’s doing really well.”
Whether it’s Kelly, Buchanan or Kincade, the defense could be the key for the Rebels in 2015. The “Landsharks” ranked 13th in the nation in total defense last season and first in the country in scoring defense. Although the defensive line and secondary are bolstered by a solid group of returners, linebacker was any area of weakness, forcing Freeze to get creative following the conclusion of last season.
He turned to senior C.J. Johnson and told him he’d like to move him from defensive end to middle linebacker, which Johnson was more than willing to do.
“The biggest adaption I had to make was being out in space,” Johnson said. “It requires a lot more running, and you have to be more patient. I have developed patience and have learned to react instead of attack. Our defensive line plays a really aggressive style, and I think moving to linebacker has taught me to be patient.”
You can reach James Bewers on Twitter @JamesBewers_TDR