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Freshmen Impress Nutt In Rebels’ First Fall Practice
OXFORD,
Miss. – The long summer days of waiting for preseason camp to
arrive are finally over, as Ole Miss conducted its first practice of
the 2011 fall season on Saturday.
Fourth-year head coach Houston Nutt had a number of good things to say
about his team’s first practice that was moved into the Indoor
Practice Facility during warm-ups because of lightning.
“We had a really good first day,” Nutt said. “A lot
of energy, passion and enthusiasm. The key is to keep it going each day
and keep getting better. Thank goodness for this indoor facility. This
really makes everything great when you have a place like this.”
The Rebels practiced for about two-and-a-half hours in helmets and
shorts. They will go in helmets and shorts again on Sunday before
moving to shoulder pads on Monday and full pads next Wednesday.
For the first time, Ole Miss welcomed the members of its No. 19
nationally ranked recruiting class (Rivals.com) to the practice field,
and Nutt gushed about the newcomers’ practice debut.
“I love them more today than I did on signing day,” said
Nutt of his new collection of players that includes 10 prep
All-Americans and a school-record four U.S. Army All-Americans.
“We threw them right out there in the middle of it. We had spring
with the ones that were here. Now it’s time to find out in a
hurry what the (new) ones can do, so we’re not going to waste
time. If they’re athletic enough and can help us, we’ll put
them right out there.”
Among the players who showed off their athleticism on Saturday were the
freshman wide receivers, including Donte Moncrief, Nickolas Brassell
and Collins Moore. Nutt talked about a particularly impressive play by
Moncrief.
“I could have sworn the ball was going out of bounds, and I look
up and he’s catching it,” Nutt said.
Another standout was junior transfer Jamal Mosley at tight end.
“Jamal Mosley makes a difference,” Nutt said.
“That’s a big body, with great soft hands, and he’s a
good blocker. He looks good.”
The quarterback race has now transitioned from spring drills to fall
practice. Barry Brunetti, Randall Mackey and Zack Stoudt were all on
the field taking snaps on Saturday.
“(The quarterbacks were) a little off early, but boy they came on
toward the end,” Nutt said. “I was really proud of how they
handled two minute (drills) the very first day. They got us in and out
of the huddle, only had one delay of game.”
Preseason drills are open to the public on the practice fields and in
the stadium through Saturday, Aug. 13. Practices will begin at 4:30
p.m. each day, while the time of the Aug. 13 workout will be announced
at a later date.
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