Starting 9: Discussing all things Ole Miss baseball
In the first two weeks of play in the fledgling Alliance of American Football, coach Steve Spurrier has proved he can still be a straw that stirs the drink.
The 73-year-old Orlando Apollos coach boasts the league’s most dynamic offense, and his entertaining presence has given the AAF instant visibility.
In Week 2, Spurrier’s Apollos engineered a come-from-behind 37-29 win again against the San Antonio Commanders. Spurrier’s latest edition of the Fun-and-gun offense generated three pass completions of 50 or more yards.
Memphis will visit Orlando at 7 p.m. Saturday. The game will air on the NFL Network.
Spurrier also hasn’t disappointed as the league’s No. 1 salesman. In the first two weeks, he has tried to recruit Tim Tebow, took a tongue-in-cheek jab at the Washington Redskins and then trolled
Opening weekend didn't go exactly according to plan for Ole Miss baseball. Between a rain out, a blister and four horrible, no-good innings, it's hard to feel the excitement baseball brings. But the good news is Ole Miss still seems to be pretty good in all the areas we thought they would. The power is there, the middle-of-the-lineup bats seem to be awake enough for the early going and the defense has been really clean other than two bad innings.
Pessimism is hard to avoid in the early season, especially when rain keeps you off the field and leaves you with a sour taste you otherwise could've erased. But it's early.
Let's take a look at this week's nine biggest Ole Miss baseball storylines.
1. Freaking blisters, man...
Ole Miss' Friday night starting pitcher Will Ethridge looked good. As good as anticipated, even. He threw 5.2 shutout innings with five strikeouts on the way to a 10-1 Ole Miss win. All the pressure is going to be on Ethridge to be the guy this year, and it looks like he has the stuff to do it.
Of course, he also has a blister on a
the Tennessee Volunteers Sunday when he said the Commanders’ Alamodome was just as loud as Tennessee’s Neyland Stadium when fans sing “Rocky Top,” the school’s official fight song.
Creative Spurrier is a winner in our Week 2 Winners and Losers. Here are others on the list:
Winner: Garrett Gilbert, Orlando Apollos: With 393 passing yards this week and an Aaf-leading 620 in two weeks, he might be earning another hard look from the NFL. He has made some impressive throws in Orlando’s 2-0 start.
Loser: Memphis Express: Coach Mike Singletary’s Express are 0-2 after blowing a fourth-quarter lead to fall 2018 to Arizona Hotshots. The team’s offense hasn’t blossomed under quarterback Christian Hackenberg. Over two weeks, he is 24-for-48 for 183 yards. The Memphis crowd of 11,980 for the first home game was also a disappointment.
Winner: San Diego Fleet: More than 20,000 fans showed up for their first home game and they delivered a 24-12 win against the Atlanta Legends. Elusive Ja’quan Gardner ran 15 times for 104 yards and two touchdowns. The former Humboldt State star was cut by San Francisco 49ers last fall.
Loser: Salt Lake City Stallions passing game: The team, coached by Dennis Erickson, has used three different quarterbacks (Austin Allen, Josh Woodrum and Matt Linehan) and they are a combined 32-for-66. A completion percentage below 50% doesn’t work in any league.
Winner: San Diego QB Philip Nelson’s no-look pass: While it wasn’t the best of days for Nelson in his first start (14-of-30, 142 yards) he completed a ridiculous granny-style, over-the-shoulder, pass that will appear on football highlight films for years to come.
Loser: AAF quarterback parade: While the AAF is supposed to be a development league, quarterback play in general hasn’t been as sharp as coaches hoped. The eight AAF teams have used 18 different quarterbacks. Only four quarterbacks have averaged more than 200 yards per game.
Winner: Defensive end Karter Schult, Salt Lake Stallions: Had two sacks, six tackles, four quarterback sacks and had a fumble in a loss to the Birmingham Iron. He has three sacks over the first two weeks. He was cut by the Carolina Panthers last fall.
Loser: Atlanta Legends: The team is 0-2 with 18 points scored over two weeks, despite having quarterback Matt Simms completing 60.4% of his passes. One major problem: Atlanta's defense gives up 161 yards per game rushing.