Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
Ole Miss quarterbacks giving Freeze plenty of options
OXFORD, Miss. — Mississippi Coach Hugh Freeze said all spring that Barry Brunetti has the slight advantage in the team’s quarterback race, but Bo Wallace is giving Freeze something to think about before fall practices begin.
Wallace completed 16 of 26 passes for 240 yards with 2 touchdowns and 1 interception to lead the Red team over the Blue 24-23 in overtime during Saturday’s Grove Bowl at Vaught-hemingway Stadium. Wallace also rushed for 17 yards and a touchdown.
“I thought Bo had the best day,” said Freeze, the former Arkansas State coach who is in his first spring at Ole Miss. “He functioned very well and kept us on schedule for the most part.”
Wallace is a 6-5 junior college transfer who came to the Rebels this spring after a stellar career at East Mississippi Community College. The best pure passer on the roster, he completed two touchdown passes to Donte Moncrief, including a 23-yarder in overtime.
Wallace didn’t have many bad moments, although he threw an interception at the goal line that ended a promising scoring drive. Overall his progression has been encouraging for the Rebels, who are trying to rebound from a 2-10 season.
“I think I really just started playing football the past two weeks,” Wallace said. “I didn’t think about the competition as much, just coming out and playing ball.”
Brunetti completed 4 of 10 passes for 62 yards and rushed for 109 yards on 14 carries.
Freeze said both quarterbacks had good moments during the two-hour spring game and the competition would likely extend into preseason practice during August. Freeze also said he could see a scenario where both quarterbacks would play a considerable role in the fall.
MISSISSIPPI STATE
Depth showing
STARKVILLE, Miss. — Tyler Russell threw for 312 yards and two touchdowns Saturday to lead the Maroon squad to a 33-22 victory over the White team in Mississippi State’s spring game, but that score wasn’t nearly as important to Coach Dan Mullen as the opportunity to get some of his younger players some minutes under pressure.
“We had a lot of young guys that have not been in this particular situation,” Mullen said. “It was important to play them. The big part of this is to get them that game day live experience without it being a real game. Being in front of a bigger crowd is different, and they have to get used to it.”
Mississippi State finished 7-6 overall and 2-6 in SEC play last season, Mullen’s third, and won the Music City Bowl. In Mullen’s three seasons, the Bulldogs have won 21 games, including two bowls and three victories over rival Ole Miss.
Mullen mentioned that stat in a halftime address to the crowd and received a chorus of applause. He has good reason to believe the excitement surrounding the program will carry over into next season as MSU returns 13 starters, including seven on defense.
“Guys are stepping up,” defensive lineman Josh Boyd said. “We are getting more depth.”
KENTUCKY
New-look defense
LEXINGTON, Ky. — Kentucky’s defense has to replace six starters from a year ago, but the new unit looked impressive Saturday in the spring game, allowing only two touchdowns in 40 minutes under a format that put the starters against the backups.
Linebacker Avery Williamson led the defense with eight tackles and two tackles for loss. Williamson is trying to fill the void left by Danny Trevathan, who led the SEC in tackles in 2010 and 2011.
Williamson had 49 tackles last season as a sophomore.
“Avery was all over the place,” Coach Joker Phillips said.
Quarterback Maxwell Smith, who started three games as a true freshman in 2011, finished with 353 yards passing, 2 touchdowns and 2 interceptions. Smith is still working on throwing the deep ball, but he connected on touchdown passes of 69 yards and 21 to Demarco Robinson.
TENNESSEE Lane leads way
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Coach Derek Dooley wanted Saturday’s Orange and White game to be competitive, with the majority of the first-team offense and defense on separate teams. That’s exactly what he got. The White team’s final drive stalled after quarterback Tyler Bray’s pass sailed out of bounds, giving the Orange team a 17-14 victory in front of a crowd of 31,241.
“I thought our players played with a lot of toughness, good energy and good effort,” Dooley said. “They were into the game and it showed.”
Bray played the entire game and finished 14 of 26 for 157 yards and 1 touchdown.
Running back Marlin Lane was the star of the afternoon, carrying 9 times for 106 yards and 2 touchdowns, including a 39-yard run on the final play of the first half to give the Orange team a 14-7 lead.
“I just wanted to come out this morning, execute every play, play hard for my team and my side and dominate in the run game,” Lane said. “I focused on running physical and not worrying about looking for holes.”