Ole Miss resumed practice Tuesday afternoon after its 33-14 loss this past Saturday to No. 1 Alabama in Tuscaloosa. The Rebels (3-2, 0-1 SEC) will welcome Southeastern Conference newcomer Texas A&M (3-1, 1-1 SEC) this weekend.
In Monday’s weekly press conference, head coach Hugh Freeze said that the quarterback competition will be more open this week. Sophomore Bo Wallace and junior Barry Brunetti split snaps at quarterback on Tuesday.
“It was good competition today,” Freeze said. “We’ll go chart everything on the film today. It’s hard when you’re out there standing behind to see if the reads were proper, but it’s some good competition. We’ll name Thursday who is going to get the start.”
Defense prepares for Manziel
Texas A&M freshman quarterback Johnny Manziel has had his way with opposing defenses this season, and Ole Miss will have its hands full with him this weekend.
The Aggies’ leading passer and rusher was named SEC Offensive Player of the Week after he set an SEC and school record with 557 yards of total offense in this past week’s 58-10 win against Arkansas.
“This week we have a lot of plays where we will always have somebody watching him,” sophomore safety Cody Prewitt said. “The defensive backs are going to stay disciplined with our scramble rules, and if we do that and have somebody watching him at all times, we’ll be good.”
Through four games for the Aggies, Manziel has thrown for 1,094 yards and 10 touchdowns without an interception in 124 pass attempts, to go along with 366 yards and six touchdowns on the ground. He leads the SEC in total offense (365.0 ypg). He also ranks fourth in passing (273.5 ypg) and fifth in rushing (91.5 ypg).
“He can scramble all over the place,” defensive coordinator Dave Wommack said. “He stresses you. He absolutely stresses your defense. He is very good and very effective.”
Neat, Grant return from injury
Ole Miss regained the services of two key players Tuesday in junior wide receiver Korvic Neat and senior defensive tackle Uriah Grant. However, freshman defensive tackle Woodrow Hamilton did not practice. Neat and Hamilton did not play against Alabama this past Saturday.
“Woody (Hamilton), we still don’t think he’ll go,” Freeze said. “Korvic (Neat) practiced today and looked OK. Uriah (Grant) practiced today, and we think he’ll go. Bo’s (Wallace) shoulder still isn’t 100 percent, but we’re pretty healthy.”
Neat is second on the team in receiving this year with 14 catches for 151 yards. Grant has recorded nine tackles on the year, and Hamilton has added seven of his own.
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