The Ole Miss Rebels returned to practice Tuesday afternoon after taking a tough loss on the road to Auburn this past weekend 30-22. The loss dropped the Rebels to 3-2 on the year and 1-2 in Southeastern Conference play and also out of the top 25.
However, by the look of the guys during the open periods of practice Tuesday, the Rebels seemed to have put the loss behind them.
“I’m not a big guy who gets into the hangover mode,” Ole Miss head coach Hugh Freeze said. “In college football there are a bunch of teams that lose games at times, and if you’re going to be worth your salt and build a program, you certainly can’t have a hangover that causes you to drag around. I’m proud of the way (the team) responded. I like the way they came back today and got after it.”
The Rebels will have another tough challenge ahead of them this weekend when No. 9 Texas A&M (4-1, 1-1 SEC) rolls into Oxford. The Aggies took last season’s matchup 30-27 in a nail biter that came down to the last drive.
Alford attempts to mimic Manziel
Texas A&M will bring arguably the most dangerous player in college football to Oxford this weekend in sophomore and last year’s Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback Johnny Manziel.
Manziel is known for his highlight plays of scrambling around and tossing the ball downfield for a touchdown, and Ole Miss will attempt to mimic that with defensive back and former Southern Miss quarterback Anthony Alford, who acts as the scout team quarterback while he sits out due to the NCAA transfer policy.
The 6-foot-1 Petal native played scout team quarterback last week when the Rebels faced Nick Marshall of Auburn and will attempt to give a good look this week as Manziel.
“Anthony Alford is our best chance,” Freeze said. “The first team period he did good running around. We tell him on this play just scramble somewhere and throw it and see if we have it covered. He did a good job; that’s as good as we can do.”
As a senior in high school, Alford threw for over 2,000 yards and 20 touchdowns, so Freeze and his staff believe he will be able to give them a good shot at seeing what Manziel might be doing come Saturday.
“Fortunately we’ve got a good look with Alford out there this week,” defensive coordinator Dave Wommack said. “He is a great athlete. I don’t know if he is in Manziel’s class or not, but Manziel is so slippery, he’s quick and fast.”
Injury updates
Junior defensive end C.J. Johnson didn’t participate in Tuesday’s practice, but Freeze said the training staff was going to give Johnson a workout after practice to see how his ankle reacts and feels Wednesday morning.
Johnson has been dealing with the ankle injury almost all season long, but he re-aggravated it during Ole Miss’ loss at Alabama on Sept. 28.
Junior defensive end Carlton Martin returned to practice Tuesday after missing Saturday’s contest at Auburn.
“Carlton looked good today,” Freeze said. “I saw the first team period today and thought he looked pretty good. I expect him to progress nicely and hopefully be with us Saturday.”
Senior running back Jeff Scott sat out Tuesday with a thigh bruise. Freeze said it’s nothing serious, and he expects Scott to be back at practice today.
Junior wide receiver Donte Moncrief was a full participant, but he is still dealing with a shoulder he sprained against Alabama.
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