Coach Hugh Freeze addresses the media yesterday in his first weekly press conference of the season. PHOTO BY: ROYCE SWAYZE
When head coach Hugh Freeze took the podium on Monday morning, the question that wanted to be answered was who would be the starting quarterback Saturday against UT-Martin?
While Freeze made it very clear that he was not ready to name a starter for the season, he did say that junior college transfer Chad Kelly was in the lead over redshirt sophomores Ryan Buchanan and DeVante Kincade.
“All three competed extremely well last week. That competition is still ongoing. This week could change my mind,” Freeze said. “Today in practice, Chad Kelly is going to take the first snap with the ones. I anticipate that will carry on throughout the week leading up to Saturday.”
Freeze emphasized that all three would see time in the game, and that no final decision had been made.
“I don’t want to be quoted today that it is locked in stone. It is a very close competition. I like all three. All three of them have different qualities that they bring,” Freeze said. “This decision is basically based upon the charts we look at every day. These charts track every single rep that these quarterbacks have had. If you look at all of the things involved, Chad Kelly has a slight edge on the other two.”
Tight end is also a position of concern for the Rebels. While junior Evan Engram is a dynamic pass catcher and has a firm hold on the number one tight end spot, the number two spot isn’t certain after redshirt freshman Sammie Epps was dismissed from the team.
“Before Jeremy Liggins’ injury in camp, he made some phenomenal catches and looked really good doing it. He’sgot some great hands for a big guy. I think he is going to have a surprising year should he stay healthy and do the little things right off the field that have slowed him down from time to time,” Freeze said. “Hunter Thurley and Dillon Barrett have both had a really good camp. I think Taz Zettergren will join them in getting some snaps; they all do a great job of catching the ball. I think we have emerged there to be adequate for this year.”
Freeze also talked about the upcoming game against the UT-Martin and how their opponent looked and what he was expecting from them on Saturday.
“They are very balanced on offense. The rush game and pass game were about equal. Anytime you can be about 50/50 on both sides it poses a threat to you defensively,” Freeze said. “Their quarterback is a very accurate passer and they do a good job of unbalancing sides and playing with some tempo.”
“They line up with different stuff that you don’t see every week that can cause you some gap issues. It is a good scheme and he’s got good players. Coach Simpson has seven guys returning on defense, three in the defensive line and the front seven, and the entire secondary is back,” Freeze said on the defense. “They have good experience on their football team from last year. When they went and played the two SEC opponents last year, I was very impressed with the plan he had and the way those kids competed.”
Freeze also talked about what freshmen could see time on the field on Saturday, with guard Javon Patterson and defensive back Zedrick Woods as locks to play, and wide receivers DaMarkus Lodge and Van Jefferson possibly seeing the field as well.
Overall, Freeze was confident in his quarterback situation, even with the starter still undecided.
“Until you see them do it live, you really don’t know, but I’m really not stressing too much over the quarterback situation. I think all three could lead us to play well,” Freeze said. “Which one is going to emerge as the best of them, only time will tell. It is definitely a different feeling than there has been in the last few years.”
