Today's practice report won't be too terribly long because I feel like a majority of it would be repeating myself regarding the offensive play-calling, quarterback situation, receivers and how they are doing.

Firstly, the threat of lightning moved us into the IPF for the day. Jeff Scott was there, but not dressed after being sent home yesterday with a fever and flu-like symptoms. Zack Stoudt was simply in practice jersey and shorts today. Issac Gross came over from Batesville to watch practice and see what Chris Kiffin is asking of his guys. This was also the first day that, unless you made it to practice yesterday at 5:30 in the morning, many of us got the chance to see Nick Brassell in this offense. Obviously, his speed is still there and, for two days, his routes are pretty tight. While this was good, he still has to get up to the offense's pace in the two quarterback drill and is having to work more on his downfield blocking with Grant Heard.

Speaking of the two quarterback quickness drill, the offensive line they used with Brunetti & Wallace is probably the best offensive line I've seen and the competitions are starting to settle. The offensive line was Aaron Morris - LT, Justin Bell - LG, Evan Swindall - C, AJ Hawkins - RG, and Emmanuel McCray - RT. They got a majority of the reps and each one looked noticeably tighter and quicker than their back-ups, outside of McCray, who will probably keep getting pushed by Pierce Burton. Hugh said post-practice that part of Burton getting moved down is result of a poor practice Monday. Darone Bailey may make a push at Morris on the left once he gets a little more healthy as well.

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I broke this down by quarterback. The actual scrimmage went Brunetti (1), Mackey (1), Wallace (1), Stoudt (1), Brunetti (2), Mackey (2), Wallace (2), Stoudt (2), Brunetti (3), Ingram (1), Wallace (3), Miller (1), Ratliff (1), Brunetti (4), Wallace (4), Brunetti (5), Mackey (3), Wallace (5), Mackey (4).

BRUNETTI (18 plays, net 66 yards. 6-10, 76 yards, 2 TDs, 1 INT. 2 rushes for -14 yards)

1st Drive (3 plays, -5 yards/ 0-2, 1 INT)

Blitz on read to Scott, loss of 5.

Ferbia Allen drop after Brunetti avoids sack

Overthrown INT by Cody Prewitt

2nd Drive (3 plays,-6 yards/ 1-1, 8 yards, 1 rush for -7 yards)

Quick post to P. Moore, 8 yard gain

Scott, tackle by Bryant, lost of 2.

False Start

Sack after low snap by Bryant, loss of 7.

3rd Drive (8 plays, 50 yards/ 3-3, 34 yards, 1 TD)

Scott off left tackle, gain of 1

P. Moore catches low pass on inside slant, gain of 4.

Scott on draw, loss of 1 (too much dancing)

Logan with sliding catch, gain of 16. FIRST DOWN!

Pitch to Scott off right tackle, gain of 8 + late hit penalty nets 21 yards. FIRST DOWN!

Botched read option to Scott, loss of 5.

Botched read option to Scott, loss of 4.

Comeback to Logan, 14 yards. TOUCHDOWN (Rose PAT is good)

4th Drive (3 plays, -13 yards/ 1-2, 4 yards, 1 rush for -7 yards)

Go route to Logan, well defended by Chief Brown, incomplete.

Zone read keeper by Brunetti for 10, negated by hold

Quick out to Singleton, gain of 4.

Brunetti slips, loss of 7

5th Drive (1 play, 30 yards/ 1-1, 30 yards, TD)

Play action to Logan for 30 yards. TOUCHDOWN! (Good defense by Chief, but well placed ball)

WALLACE (26 plays, net 119 yards. 8-17, 60 yards. 3 rushes for 19 yards)

1st Drive (6 plays, 28 yards/ 1-4, 21 yards)

Play Action roll-out, dropped by Logan

Scott on run, gain of 4. Still too much dancing

Quick slant to P. Moore, shakes loose for 21 yards. FIRST DOWN!

Scott gain of 3.

Ball too low, incompletion to Singleton.

Knocked down at line by Carlton Martin.

Bryson Rose, 50 yard attempt, No Good (just right)

2nd Drive (6 plays, 11 yards/ 1-2, 8 yards)

Jet sweep by P. Moore, gain of 3

Curl to Logan, gain of 8. FIRST DOWN!

After offsides, incompletion to Mosley (Sawyer defending. Mosley got a hand on it, but just missed)

D. Thomas, gain of 2

Read option to Thomas, no gain.

Give Thomas, loss of 2, turnover on downs.

3rd Drive (3 plays, 0 yards/ 0-3, 0 yards)

Play action over middle, thrown behind C. Moore. Incomplete

Swing pass to D. Thomas dropped

Incomplete to Singleton, slipped on comeback

4th Drive (14 plays, 50 yards/ 5-7, 30 yards, 1 rush, -6 yards)

Utah pass to Scott, gain of 5.

Pitch to Scott, no gain

Quick out to P. Moore, gain of 8. FIRST DOWN! (Needs more velocity though)

Quick curl to Singleton, gain of 3. (Needs more velocity)

Draw to Scott, gain of 5.

Curl to K. Neat, gain of 3. FIRST DOWN!

Zone keeper Wallace, gain of 5.

Quick screen to Mosley, tackled immediately by Abdul Bangura.

Sack by committee, loss of 6.

On free play (offsides), comeback to Logan for 11. FIRST DOWN!

Offsides (Missed inside to Logan. Wommack was FURIOUS)

Airmailed to P. Moore. (missed wide open Sanders for TD)

Zone read by Scott, gain of 4.

Draw by Scott, gain of 1. FIRST DOWN!

Zone read by Scott, 11 yards, TOUCHDOWN! (No PAT attempt)

5th Drive (5 plays, 30 yards/ 1-2, 1 yard, 2 rushes, 25 yards)

Zone read keeper by Wallace, gain of 17. FIRST DOWN!

Swing pass to Logan, gain of 1 yard (was quick up on the line, got play off within 10 play clock seconds)

Incomplete to Mosley, thrown behind. (Missed an open Mosley)

Wallace keeper, gain of 8.

Give Scott to the left for 4 yards. TOUCHDOWN! (No PAT attempt)

MACKEY (15 plays, net 104 yards. 2-3, 10 yards. 6 rushes, 64 yards, 2 rush TDs)

1st Drive (7 plays, 14 yards/ 1-2, 3 yds, 3 rushes, 16 yards)

“Sack” by R. Williams, loss of 4.

Mackey keeper right, gain of 10.

High pass to P. Moore, gain of 3.

Option keeper by Mackey, gain of 10. FIRST DOWN!

D. Thomas, loss of 1.

Sweep to Thomas, loss of 4.

Incompletion to Sanders.

2nd Drive (3 plays, 60 yards. 1-1, 7 yards. 1 rush, 46 yards, 1 TD)

Out route to B. Busch (FB/TE), gain of 7.

Give Parker up middle. Gain of 2.

Offsides, FIRST DOWN!

Option keeper by Mackey to right for 46 yards. TOUCHDOWN! (D. Nkemdiche still looking for jock). PAT Good! – Ritter.

3rd Drive (3 plays, 0 yards. 1 rush, -5 yards)

Give to Greer, gain of 3.

Option to Greer, gain of 2.

Sack on Play Action Rollout by Tyriek Gracia, loss of 5.

FG Attempt – Ritter. GOOD! From 47 yards.

4th Drive (2 plays, 30 yards. 1 rush, 7 yards, Rush TD)

Zone read by D. Thomas, gain of 23. FIRST DOWN!

Option keeper by Mackey for 7 yards. TOUCHDOWN!

STOUDT (10 plays, net 53 yards. 2-3, 18 yards, 1 INT. 1 rush for 4 yards)

1st Drive (4 plays, 14 yards. 0-1, 1 interception)

Give D. Thomas, gain of 6.

D. Thomas off right, gain of 5. FIRST DOWN!

Nick Parker give up the middle, gain of 3.

BAD BAD BAD interception by Abdul Bangura

2nd Drive (6 plays, 39 yards. 2-2, 18 yards. 1 rush, 4 yards)

Stop route to Sanders, gain of 13. FIRST DOWN!

Give to Parker, gain of 2.

Incomplete to K. Neat, late hit. 15 yards. FIRST DOWN!

Stoudt naked bootleg, gain of 4

Parker up the middle, no gain

Stop route to T. Grant, gain of 5.

Ritter 38 yard field goal attempt. GOOD!

INGRAM – 1 drive (4 plays, net 6 yards. 1-2, 0 yards)

Give to Houston Keyes, gain of 5.

Give Keyes off left, gain of 1.

Pass knocked down at line by defense (couldn’t see number)

Stop route to Matthew Tarpley, no gain.

MILLER – 1 drive (4 plays, net 2 yards. 2 rushes for 2 yards)

Give Eric Dietz, gain of 2.

Miller on option keeper. Gain of 7.

Blown zone read to Dietz, loss of 2.

Garbutt sack, loss of 5. (O-line blew read)

RATLIFF – 1 drive (9 plays, net 50 yards. 3-5, 37 yards, 1 TD. 1 rush for 4 yards)

Incomplete on rollout to Charlie Scott.

Zone read keeper by Ratliff, gain of 4.

Quick slant to Jordan Holder, gain of 16. FIRST DOWN!

Give to Greer, gain of 5 (lowered should for last 2)

Swing pass to K. Neat, broke 1 tackle. Gain of 7. FIRST DOWN!

Greer off left guard, gain of 8.

Offsides. FIRST DOWN!

Greer slips, loss of 4.

False start.

Incompletion on play action. Just had to get rid of it

Fade to T. Grant for 14 yards. TOUCHDOWN! Ritter – PAT Good!

Today was the first day any of the non-media got to see the Rebels actually hit somebody. Was nice to here the crack of pads. And when they were hitting, they were hitting ANYONE! The non-contact jerseys seemed to lose their power beyond the pocket, because some of the QB's, especially Mackey and Brunetti, took some shots at practice. Some of the guys are absolutely flying to the ball, Bryant & Marry were in on a lot of plays.

Brishen Mathews wasn't dressed and Uriah Grant was in a walking boot. Mark Dodson was there I know (only knew by the Whitehaven shirt) and another running back (might have been Kailo Moore) was at scrimmage.

In coaching Nike apparel to buy this year, we all remember how Hootie Dale loved him some pullovers. Well, Hugh Freeze is a firm member of Team Lesbian Golf Hat, so plan your Ole Miss Nike purchases for this season accordingly. Both sidelines kept barking all day, but hard to tell exactly what they said from the stands.

In the now (in)famous Rebel Drill, they had three "lanes" set up and just rotated between them. The offense beat the defense 16-15 on the drills (from what I counted). Jeff Scott and Devin Thomas looked good in finding the holes, but most of those were to the left side. Nick Parker didn't have the burst or the moves of the other two, but he was the hardest to bring down, no matter which way he ran. They gave the two little private school, walk-on running backs (Eric Dietz from University School of Jackson (TN) and Houston Keyes from JA) 2 reps a piece, but went mostly with the other three. I'll be interested to see how I'Tavius Mathers (or as my friends in Murfreesboro have told me "I-Train") will do in it. Most of the success we had was to the left side of the formation.

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I realize that the novels I wrote over the past few days are longer than I had anticipated them, so here are the 10 key points from today's report to really sum up the weekend

1) This team is in phenomenal shape and won't lose some of those close late games because of lack of conditioning this year.

2) When they say this team is going to go fast, that is almost an understatement. Look for this team to be on the ball and ready to go within 20 seconds, which should be a change of pace the defense's in this conference will not be ready for.

3) You can set your watch to Freeze's practices. He writes out a schedule and follows it to the minute. Whether or not you are done fully with a drill, its time to go. No time to waste.

4) Freeze has a passion for this game and this school that you really can feel. You can tell he's where he wants to be when he's on that field in the red and blue and looking up at Vaught-Hemingway standing like a monolith over him.

5) With Nick Parker seemingly coming into his own and Jeff Scott looking stronger and shiftier than before, our running back corps could really sneak up on some people this year.

6) The quarterback competition seems to be tighter than many would have anticipated. Bo Wallace's understanding of the offense is equal to the passion Barry Brunetti is showing to be on the field. And maybe the honoring of Mikhail Miller's greyshirt scholarship wasn't such the risk we thought it was.

7) The separation of receivers into outside and slot receivers in practice should do wonders in getting them more involved in their specific assignments. Doing this will help to get guys we were wondering if they were worth the scholarship a year ago more involved in the offense and improve general production.

8) Wesley McGriff was not just brought in for his recruiting acumen. He is a fine defensive backs coach and we shouldn't see our guys out of position like we have seen over the past few years.

9) The front 7 defensively may be a bit thin and a bit young as of right now, but with time, we should see an aggressive defense who will do exactly what they say they will, "Relentlessly pursue the ball and knock the ever loving crap out of someone."

10) And finally, there is a passion and enthusiasm from everyone from the coaching staff, to the players, down to the fans who go out for practice. Its infectious and will be palpable in the stadium this year. There will be some growing pains obviously, and this year might take a little while to get settled in fully, but its gonna be fun, and should be for years to come.

Another day, another day won. I told y'all I would focus more on defense today, where a few question marks remain. It hard though to really analyze these guys with them not hitting folks and manning up more in pass skeletons than actual plays.

First off, I want to talk about the discipline being instilled by Wommack and the rest of the defensive staff. When they warm up, the helmets for every group of players (linemen, linebackers, and secondary) are in a perfect line. They want to get them disciplined from warmups all the way through the day.

In opening drills, half the position players worked with Tom Allen and D Nix on staying low and flipping their hips to either get an angle on the defender on defense or downfield blocking on offense. At the same time on the other end, Wesley McGriff and, I believe, Corey Batoon (assistant AD for Player Development), worked on blocking. Then, halfway through, the two troops swapped. The defenders especially look better at flipping their hips on the Allen/Nix drill. One person who is looking way better on blocking is Jeff Scott. He's engaging sooner, working them further outside and will be good to take care of the extra blitzer.

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Ole Miss football has begun the Freeze Era. Was great to see the red and blue to hit the field again. With these being the only two back-to-back open practices, I thought I spent today mostly watching our offense.

Today was a practice in no pads, just helmets, jerseys and shorts. Not too hot, not too cold was nice to have out there. Seen at the practice today not dressed: Senquez (not on baseball travel roster), Nick "Snoop" Brassell (academic reasons according to Hugh's presser earlier this week), and DT (still in brace and on crutches).

Biggest Questions Going Into Spring:

1) With seemingly 18 quarterbacks and no one walking in the immediate starter, who will be the signal caller?

2) Who's gonna catch whichever QB we uses' passes?

3) Who's gonna run the ball to take the pressure off the passing game besides Jeff Scott?

4) What will our offensive line look like?

5) Who are some of these coaches Hugh has brought in?

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UAB fired Mike Davis today and some analysts at CBS expect them to make a play after alumni and Gene Bartow disciple Andrew Kennedy from our fair Ole Miss. Me personally, I would love to see this happen so we can bring in a better coach and be more competitive and, who knows, make something besides the NIT. I know this would be a downward move for him, but we all know how much an alma mater can affect a decision, especially after the death of Gene Bartow this past year. If he goes, who do you want?

Seems like with a new AD on the horizon, if Kennedy gets continuously outcoached (like he did Thursday) and doesn't make the tournament, he's living on borrowed time. If he is, do you think we try to hire a big name assistant or a mid-major coach to take over and what do you think the school would be willing to do. Me personally, if it wasn't a lateral at best move, would love to see us hire Dana Altman, who's at Oregon now. As far as realistic options, I would like to see us make a play for Gregg Marshall. Used have Winthrop beating the fire out of people and is now doing well at Wichita State. We need someone who has set themselves apart at a lower level (like Anthony Grant VCU to Bama) instead of an assistant who seems to be a hot commodity (like the John Pelphrey Experiment at Arkansas) in my opinion. But if we do end up getting rid of AK sooner rather than later, who would you like to see take over the program.

The Rebel hockey team has quietly worked their way to a 9-2 (2-0) record. Tonight, they completed a two game sweep of State to open conference play in the SECHC. The Rebs won both games 8-1, including without their number one goalie between the pipes for tonight's game. I know it is early in the season and they are technically a "club team", but it is nice to have a winning record next to the name "Ole Miss". They are about to hit the meat of their schedule in SECHC play. Trust me hockey fans, this is an aggressive team who puts a ton of goals on the board (72 through 11 games) and plays hard. And for those of you who like hockey for the fights, in tonight's game, we had 3 or 4 glove droppers and a handful of other quick skirmishes with 3 players for each team being sent off the ice (including one punk from State who decided to essentially horse collar one of our guys, then waited for the refs to show up to put on an extra little show of "bring it" to our bench as he backed towards his). Tonight drew about 2,000 or so to Bancorp South Arena and the crowd was pretty rocking and, for only 6 bucks, the value can't be beat.

For the schedule, see www.olemiss.edu/orgs/icehockey

As a Reds fan who attends the University of Mississippi, I was thrilled to see Zack Cozart, SS, advance all the way up to Louisville. Always nice to see a Rebel on the verge of moving up to your favorite team. However, since I live in Tennessee, I'm not sure how he is doing and how likely it is for him to advance up to Cincinnati in the next year or two. Does anyone have any more information about him?