ALEX EDWARDS | The Daily Mississippian
(LEFT:) Barry Brunetti catches a snap during last week’s game against Troy.
(RIGHT:) Bo Wallace releases a pass during last Saturday’s game against Troy.
An up-tempo, spread-them-out type offense is like a finely tuned orchestra. It’s up to each person to play their part. If someone messes up, the whole offense looks out of whack. If they all perform to perfection, it really is a thing of beauty.
For most offenses that run that way, it all depends on the quarterback to make the right reads, make the correct throw when it’s called for and get everyone lined up in the right spot. In Hugh Freeze’s offense, it’s dependent on two guys, who have two clearly defined roles.
Bo Wallace is the main composer that leads the Rebel offense in most situations, but when the Rebels need to mix things up, they insert Barry Brunetti, who gives defenses a different look.
“I have to give a lot of credit to (quarterbacks coach) Dan Werner, as well as those two kids (Wallace and Brunetti),” Ole Miss head coach Hugh Freeze said earlier this season. “We must always take care of the football, and we’ve done a good job putting an emphasis on that also. We’ve also been able to run the ball, which is a huge thing for anyone that understands what our offense is like. When you’re able to run the ball, it gives you a little more time to throw, and the decisions become better.”
It sounds weird, especially when you take into account the great year that Wallace has had so far –– 2,664 yards, 17 touchdowns, five interceptions –– but it works, really well actually.
Both Wallace and Brunetti transferred to Ole Miss from other schools and both throw right-handed, but the similarities stop there.
Wallace stands 6-foot-4, 209 pounds, while Brunetti is 6-foot, 223 pounds. Wallace is an above-average passer and average runner, while Brunetti is an above-average runner and average passer. It’s as unique as it gets, but the way Freeze uses both guys in the offense is remarkable.
There’s no doubt Wallace is the guy. He’s the star of the show, and Brunetti is the supporting actor.
Just watch any Ole Miss game this season.
Wallace starts almost every drive and can run virtually any play in the playbook. If Ole Miss drives down the field and gets inside the 5- or 10-yard line, in goes Brunetti. If Brunetti starts the drive, he has every run play available and certain passing plays. If the Rebels get into a third-and-long, in goes Wallace.
It’s hard to see how it works, but it just does. Everyone else on the offense doesn’t worry about who the signal caller is. They’re worried about their jobs.
At times this season, the system has struggled, but the past four games, it’s probably the best it’s been all year. Why is that? Because both Wallace and Brunetti are improving on things they’ve struggled with in the past.
For Wallace, third downs were something he had to improve on. In order for the Rebel offense to take the next step, they had to pick up third downs, and they’ve done that lately.
On third downs this season, Wallace has a good completion percentage of 61.1 percent. That number increases to 65.4 percent on third-and-10 and longer.
“I have the third-down calls on Thursday, and I’ll write down my top eight third-down plays,” Wallace said last week. “Coach Werner has that for each situation –– short, long, medium, everything. I think that’s helped me a little bit.”
For Brunetti, it was about trust. Everyone has seen the plays he can make with his feet, but when it came to a situation where he had to throw the ball, he really struggled.
Against Texas A&M earlier this season, Brunetti had his breakthrough. The Memphis native threw two touchdown passes on just four pass attempts. It began a hot streak for Brunetti. Since that performance, he is 16-for-21 passing for 234 yards and six touchdowns.
“He’s definitely a different player right now,” Freeze said at his weekly press conference Monday. “Much more confidence and certainly helps us. I don’t think if you’re preparing for us now that you’re just going to load the box when he enters the game. We’ve shown we have confidence in him throwing and running. He’s been effective at it, completing a high percentage of his balls and taking care of the ball, which is what we ask of him.
“Really pleased with the play lately and do think that that adds an element to preparing for us. We’ll do both with him.”
Brunetti’s confidence is as high as it has ever been, but he still knows where he fits into the offense.
“Confidence is huge, and he’s playing with that now,” Freeze said. “He feels good about his decisions and the timing of it and his role, so confidence is a huge part of it.”
It remains to be seen how Ole Miss will end the regular season. They have a tough matchup this weekend against No. 8 Missouri and a road battle at rival Mississippi State.
However, if one thing is for certain, opponents will have to put in extra time figuring out how to slow down the Ole Miss odd quarterback couple.
For continuing coverage of Ole Miss football, follow @DavidLCollier and @thedm_sports on Twitter.
-David Collier
thedmsports@gmail.com
