Ole Miss is like home to former UF commit Corral
HOOVER, Ala. — Ole Miss wanted quarterback Matt Corral for a long, long time.
Corral just never saw things working out with the Rebels — that is, until things fell through with the Florida Gators.
The coaching change from Jim McElwain to Dan Mullen following the 2017 season set Corral on a new course that landed him in Oxford, Miss., where opportunity awaited him.
Corral seized his chance. The 20-year-old enters his redshirt freshman season as Ole Miss’ starting quarterback and already one of the team’s leaders.
“I haven’t been around anyone that’s stepped up this soon,” senior offensive tackle Alex Givens said of Corral. “He has some big shoes to fill. He’s been doing a great job of it, so we’re really excited about it.”
Givens said Corral’s decision to sign with Ole Miss in 2018 after decommitting from UF was a boon for the Rebels, who had pursued Corral since he was a high school sophomore in South California.
It also was an about-face for Corral.
“Ole Miss has always been there in my ear since I was in high school,” he recalled. “And I never really pictured me being there.”
Corral said he initially expected to play in the Pac-12, then later the Big Ten before deciding to commit to UF during his junior season. But during his time in Gainesville, Corral realized he wanted to experience the passion surrounding SEC football.
“It just means more to people,” he said. “I could tell it just visiting Florida and talking to other schools, like LSU. I decided to go with Ole Miss.”
The nation’s No. 4-rated quarterback, Corral immediately became the centerpiece of the Rebels’ 2018 class and the team’s quarterback of the future. Meanwhile, UF lost one of its top recruits.
“It just didn’t mesh right with me and others,” Corral said. “We had a top-three class going there, but none of that matters anymore. We’re moving on from that.
“It’s a huge year. All I’m worried about is winning games for Ole Miss.”
Despite his inexperience, Corral appears ready to replace Jordan Ta’amu, who spearheaded an offense that averaged 432.1 yards during SEC games.
The new NCAA rule last season allowing first-year athletes to play in up to four games and still redshirt positioned Corral to step in.
“He was able to get those four games under his belt, and you can really see that in the spring,” Ole Miss coach Matt Luke said. “It really separated himself from the other quarterbacks.”
Corral’s arm strength and running ability make him a nice fit for the spread offense of Rich Rodriguez, the former Arizona and Michigan coach who is now the Rebels offensive coordinator.
“Matt’s a very, very talented guy,” Luke said. “He can make all of the throws. He’s got escapability in the pocket, and then all of the intangibles with the toughness that we’ve already talked about.
“So I think the combination of all of that made him the choice.”
Corral said he made the right choice with the Rebels too. Even so, success has come quickly.
When Luke asked him last week to represent Ole Miss at SEC media days, Corral was ill-prepared.
“I had no suit,” he said. “I had to go get a suit after that.”
Decked out in red tie and blue blazer with an Ole Miss pin attached to the left lapel, Corral was eager to take the reins as the Rebels’ leader and surprise the SEC.
“I wanted it,” Corral said. “That’s part of the reason of why I came here: just being the leader and doing what you’re supposed to be doing and setting an example.”