Mississippi quarterback Bo Wallace (14) releases a pass during an NCAA college football practice in Oxford, Miss., Tuesday, Sept. 16, 2014. (Photo/Thomas Graning)
The open week is officially over for the Ole Miss Rebels as they get set to take on the Memphis Tigers this Saturday.
“It’s time to get back into a very difficult stretch of games that we’re going to have over the next month-and-a-half to two months. We’re playing a very difficult opponent,” head coach Hugh Freeze said.
Freeze spoke about how Memphis head coach Justin Fuente has done in rebuilding the Tigers’ football the team.
“I’m extremely impressed with the job that Justin (Fuente) has done in a short amount of time. They’ve played with tremendous passion and physical football. He’s upgraded the talent level significantly from the last time I had an experience with him when I was at Arkansas State,” Freeze said. “It’s certainly going to be a game that we’re going to have to play very, very well to win. It will be a good challenge for us. We need that at this point in the season.”
Freeze felt a couple of things really stood out about the team.
“Their athleticism, the quarterback is playing really well, and defensively they’re very aggressive,” Freeze said. “They tackle extremely well.”
Senior quarterback Bo Wallace offered his own assessment of Memphis.
“They play really hard. They’re physical. They do some things that can cause problems,” Wallace said. “The great thing is, we had two weeks to prepare for them. Our team feels pretty prepared right now. These next couple of days we’ll have to fine tune and really hone in on the game plan.”
Sophomore defensive end Fadol Brown also talked about what he saw from Memphis, specifically from their offense.
“They find ways to move the ball,” Brown said. “They’re a team that wants to catch you out of position and take advantage of it with big plays.”
Freeze was also impressed with how Memphis played in a tough loss to No. 11 UCLA.
“They’ve gone toe-to-toe with one of the nation’s best at their place,” Freeze said. “If their quarterback keeps playing solid, their defense is good enough to keep them in every game.”
Freeze also addressed the team’s injuries.
“I’Tavius (Mathers) practiced yesterday. I thought he looked pretty decent. I expect him to go,” he said. “Collins (Moore) is still not ready. He tried to practice yesterday, but he’s not ready to play yet.”
He also spoke on defensive end C.J. Johnson and offensive lineman Aaron Morris, who are still getting up to full speed after sustaining injuries last year.
“They’re still a little rusty. Aaron had a little procedure done last week that we hope is going to help him. He practiced last night and looked better,” Freeze said. “C.J. is further along, but I don’t know that he’s back to where he was before the injury. I think he’ll be raring to go the next time we get out.”
He also talked about freshman guard Rod Taylor, who subs in with Morris and senior guard Justin Bell frequently.
“He’s progressed himself to where he’s in the mix and is going to play a lot of snaps. We probably will not start him any time soon. I don’t know that that would be best for him or our team,” Freeze said. He’ll be in the game very quick and we’ll rotate those guys around at guard.”
