No Need to Wait

I will probably be out of pocket for the next couple of days as I make may way towards Memphis for the game on Saturday. What I have failed to do this year is make my projection for the upcoming season for the Rebels. Many of you have asked my opinion in the past month or so when I have seen you in various places. I decided I might as well go ahead and post it where I can see how my prediction stacks up against yours.

I see the Rebels going 5-7. I am not one of those that breaks down game by game and says we will beat team X and lose to Y. However I do think Coach O will get a win against a big time team this year, which is what this staff needs. Under Coach O's leadership, his teams have been very close to knocking off some top 10-15 teams, however they have fallen short on each try. I believe this is the year for O and company.

Some non Ole Miss readers are probably laughing saying this guy is satisfied with a 5-7 record. No I am not happy about a 5-7 record, but I believe it is a step in the right direction. I understand that we are Ole Miss and we do have to build a program basically from the ground up based on the talent that O was left with. I am a believer in Coach O and his program. Do I question some of his moves, yes; will I probably be down on him at times during the season, yes. But this guy has the fire and desire that very few coaches have ever had at Ole Miss.

So I am ready. I have been waiting since the Rebels last suited up in November at beat the Dogs in Oxford. I hope Coach O proves me wrong and can get the Rebels 6+ wins and return the Rebels to a bowl game. Let's go have some fun and I hope to see you all in Memphis and if not in the Grove next Saturday.

Laurent In

Just got word that freshman defensive lineman Ted Laurent has been cleared by the NCAA. Coach O was quoted after practice saying not to expect Ted to play much against Memphis due to the fact he has missed a few practices while waiting on the NCAA ruling. However O did mention he expects Ted to make an impact this year for the Rebels.

More on Powe

Below is a portion of the NCAA press release on Jerrell Powe. As you will read it, you will see that the NCAA has evidently created a new form of eligibility which will allow Powe to attend Ole Miss on an athletic scholarship but will not allow him to participate on the football team.

This has set off a fire in the Rebel nation on the internet message boards. Many of those who claim to be in the know have lead the Ole Miss faithful to believe this would finally be the year Powe would be admitted. Evidently they were wrong.

Ole Miss has released a statement that they will be appealing the decisions based on two seperate criterias. Donald Jackson, Powe's attorney, has also threatened to file a lawsuit.

I guess all is not over in this case, but the third time was not the charm for Powe.

INDIANAPOLIS --- The NCAA staff has partially approved an initial eligibility waiver for football prospective student-athlete Jerrell Powe. With this decision, Powe will be allowed to receive athletically related financial aid to attend classes. However, he will be ineligible for practice and competition until meeting NCAA and institutional academic requirements in college. The earliest Powe could participate is fall 2008.

"The idea for determining if student-athletes are academically eligible to participate in college sports is to ensure that the rigors of practice and competition do not interfere with the primary reason student-athletes enroll in college - to get an education," said Kevin Lennon, NCAA vice president of membership services. "Mr. Powe has not achieved sufficient academic success under NCAA rules to permit athletics participation."

In a separate decision, the NCAA staff expressed concern that Mr. Powe completed a significant amount of coursework in an unusually limited amount of time -- much shorter than the average time it takes students to complete similar courses. This determination led the staff to invalidate a portion of Mr. Powe's academic high school records provided to the NCAA.

BREAKING NEWS

It has just been released on the NCAA website that Jerrell Powe has been denied the eligibility to play football at Ole Miss.

More tonight as the story develops, but I would expect lawsuits.

Strong Making a Move

It appears the Rebel coaching staff has decided to move former Mr. Football, Chris Strong to the trenches. The coaching staff evidently feels he will be better used at tackle instead of middle linebacker. I imagine they will use a variety of defensive stunts with Strong. The other interesting move is that Tony Fein and Jonathan Cornell have switched spots, which moves Cornell to staring MLB and Fein in the race for starting outside linebacker.

Update 8/28
Chris Strong moved back to middle linebacker at practice today. As noted, I expect him to see action at both positions. However the recent Powe news will probably switch plans up a little bit.

With the news of Powe, the Rebels really need good news on Ted Laurent in the next day or so. Laurent will be used in the trenches on the DL and has great potential.

OXFORD — Ole Miss has decided that freshman Chris Strong is best suited for the defensive line — for now.

Coach Ed Orgeron said today that Strong will play at defensive tackle during the season opener at Memphis. Strong, the state’s reigning Mr. Football, spent most of preseason practice at middle linebacker.

“We think that right now he will play defensive line against Memphis,” Orgeron said. “Not to say that he can’t play linebacker, but for right now, that’s where we’re going to put him.”

Strong’s weight — Orgeron said it’s 282 pounds — is a big reason for the move. So is the every down availability of junior Peria Jerry, who had off-season foot surgery and has had minor injuries this preseason.

With Strong’s move to the trenches, Ole Miss also announced other changes.

Sophomore Jonathan Cornell and junior college transfer Tony Fein have switched positions.

Cornell, who spent most of the preseason at weakside linebacker, will now man the middle.
Fein has moved to the weakside and Orgeron said he’ll fight for a starting job with Jamie Phillips and Brandon Thomas.

“We’re trying him out there,” Orgeron said. “We’re not necessarily saying that he’s going to start there. We’ve got three days this week to see if he can handle that new job.”

A Reminder From Last Year

Say It Loud: "I'm Back and I'm Proud"

Birmingham, AL-After a long weekend emergency board meeting, the lights at Worldclassglass global headquarters in Birmingham, AL were turned back on and the staff was told they could discontinue looking for new jobs. The board has decided to leave Worldclassglass live on the world wide web through the end of the year. The Chairman and CEO had this to say after the meeting:

"The corporate team had several meetings with outside consultants throughout the week to test the feasibility of allowing the website to continue to reach its constituents. After long discussion it was agreed we let the fan base down by giving them such short notice on the decision to shut the web site down. We heard their concerns and have agreed to continue the blog through the end of the year. While some would like it to continue longer, we hope those will be satisfied with the 5-6 month continuance and hope everyone will take full advantage of the website in expressing their opinions in the upcoming football season.

With that we leave you with this video to preview the upcoming season:

Ramblings

-I am a couple of days late on this one, but Mr. Football Chris Strong was cleared to play for the Rebels. The NCAA officially cleared Ding Dong's relative to play on Wednesday. Those that are yet to be cleared are Jerrell Powe, Ted Laurent, and Rishaw Johnson. It appears the NCAA is reviewing all their cases and has requested more info.

-It appears Brent Schaeffer is creaping back into the rotation at QB. After Wednesday's practice Coach O commented on Schaeffer and mentioned he was having a better practice week this week. However do not expect to see him take first snap at Memphis. But let's hope the trend continues on Schaeffer and he can find his football form again. It is my firm belief we need Schaeffer, Adams will not cut it for us.

-There has been an executive decision by the CEO of Worldclassglass, to hold an emergency board meeting this weekend to discuss the future plan if any of Worldclassglass. The board members will be hearing the concerns of their constituents raised over the past week. If there is a future it will be announced one way or the other on Sunday.

Another Freshman Joins the List

The first time I have heard anything about Rishaw was tonight. I belive this is the first time it has been mentioned Rishaw could have some problems since fall camp has started. This was reported on the Clarion Ledger earlier tonight.


OXFORD — Freshman offensive linemen Rishaw Johnson has joined fellow Ole Miss signee Ted Laurent on the sidelines because of unresolved academic issues.

Ole Miss coach Ed Orgeron said tonight that the Rebels have pulled Johnson off the field because the NCAA has questions about his coursework. Johnson, who did not scrimmage last Saturday, had reported with the newcomers earlier this month and had practiced throughout the first two weeks of the preseason.

"He handed in all the paperwork," Orgeron said. "They just wanted to look at something."

Orgeron did not specify what the NCAA was reviewing.

But Johnson now joins three other Rebels - Laurent, defensive tackle Jerrell Powe and linebacker Chris Strong - waiting to be ruled academically eligible before they can play in the season opener at Memphis on Sept. 1.

Laurent, Strong and Powe were all provisionally admitted to the university and permitted to practice for as many as 14 days while waiting for the NCAA to rule on their academic eligiblity.

Laurent's 14-day window ran out last week. Orgeron said Wednesday will be the final day Strong and Powe can practice without NCAA certification.

Ellis Playing Well at US Am

Ole Miss golfer and Senatobia resident Kyle Ellis is having a good tournament thus far at the US Am in California. After day one Ellis was two shots back in second place. He had a great round yesterday despite being delayed due to fog. The fog played a factor again today as the rounds were pushed back for most of the day. Kyle was only able to play nine holes in his second round and was four over for the day based on the latest update on the internet, although he was still in the top 25.

You can click on the link below to follow Kyle through the tournament. The tourney will be on the Golf Channel and NBC for the rest of the week and weekend.

Live Scoring: http://www.usamateur.org/scoring/alllb.htm

Rebs Spice Up Stadiums

(UMAA) OXFORD, Miss. – Ole Miss athletics and TeleSouth Communications have announced plans to install video ribbon boards at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium and C.M. Tad Smith Coliseum. TeleSouth has contracted Daktronics, Inc., for the $2 million project, which has already begun and will be completed in time for the upcoming season. The football stadium will feature 500 feet of the Sideline ProAd Video Plus Displays. The boards are 3.5 feet high and will run 250 feet along the east Rebel Club façade and 250 feet along the west press box. The coliseum will be fitted with 360 total feet of the video displays above the top row of seating. The two 180-foot strips will run baseline-to-baseline parallel to each sideline. “We’re excited to be a part of this investment in Ole Miss,” said TeleSouth Vice-President Walker Jones. “The video boards will not only enhance these athletics facilities but make the gameday experience more enjoyable for all fans. In addition, the boards provide an added revenue stream for Ole Miss athletics.” The full-color, full-motion presentation of the ProAd system creates an interactive gameday environment, energizing fans and making sponsor messages a central part of that experience. The digital displays can instantly present up to 360 degrees of ribbon-style video, animation, advertisements and live information.

The End of An Era

After much discussions and deliberations at the annual Worldclassglass staff outing, the board of directors has decided to close the doors at Worldclassglass effective Sunday August the 26th, the Sunday before kickoff of the NCAA 2007 football season. Many board members were tried to reach by phone this weeekend, but all refused to comment on the situation. Worldclassglass will continue as an internet blog for the remainder of the week before closing down for good. The internet site has been in existance since December the 16th, 2004 and has reported on the hirings and firings of both a head football coach and head basketball coach since that time. The staff has covered everything from women's volleyball to golf to football. We have reported on the road from Atlanta, New Orleans, and even did some live blogging from some baseball games at times. Worldlcassglass President and CEO issued a statement this afternoon concerning the closure:

"Worldclassglass has been a major project over the last several years and has brought together a group of friends to read news on a variety of topics, most of which included the University of Mississippi athletic department. The goal of the blog when we started was to provide an avenue for everyday fans to read about the news and happenings about Ole Miss without having to filter through dozens of internet websites and deal with the wackos on the internet message boards. While I hate to let these readers down, it is time to move on. Hopefully these fans will find another avenue to gain insight on the happenings at Ole Miss. We thank everyone for their support and hope you have enjoyed this run of almost three years as much as we have. Finally, I would like to thank all of you have read over the years, especially those of you who have posted comments to keep the discussion going"

As for now the staff at Worldclassglass will be in place until turning out the lights on Sunday night. How long the page will be available for access before being dissolved is yet to be determened.

"You won't be reading about any of our players getting arrested in the paper."-SLY

I am not saying Ole Miss has not had its fair share of run ins with the law over the past few years, but Croom set him self up when he made the above comment.

(Clarion Ledger)STARKVILLE — Mississippi State backup quarterback Josh Riddell is suspended indefinitely after his early Sunday morning arrest for driving under the influence of alcohol.

Riddell, 21, was arrested at 1:41 a.m Sunday on U.S. Highway 182 north of campus with a blood alcohol concentration of 0.14, according to Starkville Police Department records. A copy of the ticket issued to Riddell showed he was driving a Chevrolet Tahoe with an Alabama license plate.

He was also cited with a seat belt violation. Starkville Police Chief David Lindley would not comment this afternoon on the details of Riddell’s arrest.

Speaking to reporters prior to his team’s 4 p.m. practice, MSU coach Sylvester Croom said Riddell would still practice with the team. Riddell walked to the practice field as Croom spoke, but Riddell was not made available for interviews.

I Hate The Princeton Review

Below is an article from the AP on the latest release from the Princeton Review who has once again ranked Ole Miss as a top ten party school. This time the magazine has ranked Ole Miss the No. 2 party school in the country. Where these people get their rankings and information from are beyond me. Ole Miss is by far not in the top 10-20 party schools. With the new strict laws put in place by the University and the City of Oxford, there is no way the rankings can be true. Especially with the way the University has come down on drinking and partying over the last several years.

Don't get me wrong, Ole Miss and Oxford is a place where a student and alumni can have a blast every day of the week. And it can be a great time and people can have a great party every day of the week. But with the new laws and the policies the university has passed since in the past five years, there is no way the university can be the number two party school in the United States.

It is stupid rankings like this that cause the university administration to pass rules and laws to regulate parties and enforce more strict enforcement of the rules. While I am not saying that some things needed to change, it is my belief to try and solve problems that you can. A University or it's town will never be able to stop college kids from drinking. However they can lessen those that drink and drive and educate peopel to make more responsible decisions.

There are the fights that you can win and those that will help make a difference. Public transportation and more effective use of police force can help reduce the problem of alcohol related incidents. And that starts with the education of the police force. The fact that any redneck from Water Valley can walk off the street and become an Oxford police officer leads to more problems that it solves. It is my opinion the University and Oxford need to re-evaluate their current plan, and fight the battles they can win. Which in return will more than likely reduce the number of alcohol related accidents and make the town a safer place to live.

This was alot of rambling, but I would think most of the people that read this would agree with me, in the fact those in control are not fighting the fights they can win. They are fighting a fight that will go on for years and years in a college town.




MORGANTOWN, W.VA. — To the disappointment of school administrators - and the pride of some students - West Virginia University is No. 1 on The Princeton's Review's annual list of the top 20 party schools. No. 2 on the party list was the University of Mississippi.

The school has made the list seven times in the past 15 years, despite efforts to curb underage drinking and rowdy behavior.

Rebs-TeleSouth Sign 10 Year Deal

I am sure the only marketing move they will continue to know how to do is throw t-shirts in the stands at basketball games. But I guess the contract is an improvement. I just hope they get the radio worked out in Memphis that is our second largest market from alumni, and the largest media market we have, yet it is tough to find Rebel basketball and baseball games on the radio at some points during the year.

On a side note, it is being reported that Richard Cross has left the radio crew. I really liked Richard, especially in baseball, he seemed to be pretty knowledgeable of the sport. There is no telling what fool they will bring in now to be the color guy.

(UMAA)OXFORD, Miss. -- The Ole Miss Athletics Department and TeleSouth Communications have agreed to an extension and expansion of multi-media rights for the next 10 years. The new contract, which has a guaranteed investment by TeleSouth of $27 million over the 10-year period, runs from July 1, 2007 through June 30, 2017.



“After communicating with several media rights vendors, I believe this TeleSouth relationship is in the best interest for Rebel athletics,” Ole Miss Athletics Director Pete Boone said.

The new contract represents a significant increase in revenues to Ole Miss Athletics from TeleSouth for marketing and broadcast fees.

“I have been pleased with the aggressive revenue generation TeleSouth has exhibited,” Boone said. “In 2002 Ole Miss Athletics received $325,000 and in 2007 we received $810,000. The first year of this contract the athletic department will receive a minimum of $1,050,000. I’m confident in the continued strong growth of the revenue figure over the life of the contract.”

TeleSouth is providing an additional $2.8 million in capital improvements, and additional financial considerations are based upon revenue generated by TeleSouth. TeleSouth has also invested $2.25 million to procure the rights for the existing video board at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium to further increase revenues to the University.

According to Jones, TeleSouth will also be investing in several capital improvements at the University over the life of the contract, including the addition of LED ribbon boards at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium and Tad Smith Coliseum, and additional funding for upgrades to the existing video board at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium

Mico Is Out

As we have expected for several weeks and months, Mico McSwain will not be on the Ole Miss football team this year. McSwain has been released from the team for academic reasons. In a year when the receiving unit is thin, it would have been great to have him back. Mico made some great plays over the past couple of years, but it was well known he was not the sharpest on the block. Below is the Clarion Ledger article on McSwain.

OXFORD — Ole Miss junior receiver Mico McSwain will not be academically eligible in 2007.

“It comes a point where he has to do it,” coach Ed Orgeron said. “You have to fish or cut bait. We laid out everything we possibly could and he didn’t get it done.”

McSwain was one of four Ole Miss players trying to get academically eligible during August Intersession courses this month.

The other three — cornerback Nate Banks, defensive tackle Brandon Jenkins and linebacker Antonio Turner — practiced with the Rebels this afternoon.

McSwain set the school’s freshman rushing record by running for 612 yards and three touchdowns in 2005. But his role diminished with the emergence of BenJarvus Green-Ellis last season and eventually moved to receiver. McSwain had 481 all-purpose yards last season.

Orgeron said he’s not certain of McSwain’s plans now, but believes he’ll go to either an NAIA or Division II school.

“I expect him to do that,” Orgeron said. “He hasn’t said that, but I expect him to do that. He needs to go somewhere and play football and get straight.”

Action Jackson

I have read on two Ole Miss beat reporters blogs that Jerrell Powe's attorney Don Jackson is reporting he will have all the information to the NCAA in the next day or two in response to the request they made a week or so ago. If that is the case, the NCAA has seven days to respond and make a ruling in Powe's case. If any of you have read the report, Ole Miss fan or not, you know that it is ridiculous the amount of information they have requested.

At any rate if all goes well and Jackson gets the documents to the NCAA tomorrow, we should have the final ruling on Powe that will decide the defensive lineman's case one way or the other for the final time.

To be honest I was a little shocked it took Jackson as long as it did to respond to the NCAA request. This man has been talking for months about how he was going to get the Jerrell in school and prove the NCAA wrong. For a man that talks alot of game, he sure is a little slow in responding.

Cowtown??

I know I am a few days late on this one, but it is hilarious. For those of you that have not seen it yet follow the below link. The Zinger is at the end and it's classic. It is a report from a local Baton Rouge station about the upcoming game against Mississippi State. It is well worth your time:
http://media.swagit.com/s/wbrz/The_Advocate_Sports/08092007-13.high.flash8.html

Practice Update

Below is the UMAA practice report from Saturday's workout. Coach O gave the team Sunday off. They took the day off to rest and go to church. He divided up the coaches to go to different churches and invite members of the team along today. I have seen other universities do this. I think it is a great thing and something members of the community appreciate.

OXFORD, Miss. – Ole Miss took to the game field of Vaught-Hemingway Stadium Saturday for the first time this preseason, as football two-a-day practices continue.

The Rebels worked out for two hours under the morning sun on the practice fields, before moving over to the stadium for a mid-afternoon scrimmage, the first of camp.

“We had an outstanding scrimmage this afternoon,” said third-year head coach Ed Orgeron. “Overall, I was really pleased with the effort out there. I thought the guys really responded well. They had a great attitude. There was good mental toughness out there. We wanted to put the guys out there, and let them perform like it was a game.”

Earlier in the week, 6-foot-1 freshman Lionel Breaux shifted from defense to offense, and on Saturday, the New Orleans native impressed his new coach on specials teams and at wide receiver.

“Lionel Breaux showed out in the return game and had a return for a touchdown,” Orgeron said. “He also had a couple catches and one for a touchdown. He looked really good and a lot better on offense than he looked on defense. He stepped up, and I think we found us a playmaker at that position. I’m excited about that.

“He looks natural (at wide receiver). He is such a hard worker, a great young man and a competitor. He’s definitely going to play this year. He should be one of our top players.”

Orgeron said the usual cast stood out on offense, and senior tailback Bruce Hall enjoyed a particularly productive afternoon.

“Robert (Lane) caught some balls, and BenJarvus (Green-Ellis) had an ok today,” said Orgeron. “Bruce had a better day today. I thought Bruce Hall ran the ball hard and made some big plays.

“Marshay (Green) had some good catches. With Robert Hough, these guys are all starting to make plays.”

Seth Adams took all of the first-team snaps at quarterback and earned some confidence from Coach O.

“He had the better day today,” Orgeron said “Seth looked okay, not great. He operated. There is a couple of balls he threw real well and a couple of mistakes he made.

“Seth is starting to pull away with the deal.”

On the offensive front, Michael Oher also earned Orgeron’s praise.

$tans

Andy Katz has an article up on ESPN about different pre game stunts and various stunts that take place before or during basketball games in the NCAA. One of his comments is about the Bulldogs. Evidently the Dogs don't turn on all the lights in "The Hump" when the opposing team practices. Enough coaches have complained about $lick Rick that the SEC office will be forcing them to cut the lights on when the opposing team practices the day before the game. Below is a portion of the article. Now if someone could just get him to ban those dang kids from sitting on the bench, I would be happy.

More pregame exploits:
• A couple of SEC teams also get into the pregame act, according to Katz. Mississippi State apparently saves money -- and annoys visiting teams -- by turning on only the dimmers in the gym the night before a game so the opposing teams practice in limited lighting. Bulldogs coach Rick Stansbury said he deals with this every day, but the issue has become enough of a problem for opposing SEC coaches that it came up at the coaches meeting this past spring. Coaches from Florida, LSU and South Carolina said they have had trouble seeing their notes.

Powe and Strong Join the Team

As Coach O described today, it was kindof like Christmas for the Ole Miss football team. Two of their top recruits who have been questionable academically for quite some time were admitted by the University today. As stated earlier, both of these guys will be allowed to practice, but the NCAA still has to clear these guys to make them eligible to play in a game.

This was big news to many Rebel fans who have been following the Powe saga for the past couple of years Will we ever know the real story of how everything went down, I doubt it. But there are about 30 different versions of how the events took place over the last several weeks.

One of my concerns with these two guys was whether or not they would be in shape. Coach O commented today that is was obvious both these guys have been working out, but they still have a way to go to get into "football" shape. Another comment Coach O made today was that they will be placing Strong at middle linebacker to start out. Both of these guys are a big asset to an already talented defensive front seven.

Let's just hope the NCAA clears them soon and puts this mess to bed.



*On a side note, Brent Schaeffer was moved back to quarterback today. O commented he could be flip-flopping all fall, so who knows where he will wind up.

It Keeps Coming

Below is the story the Clarion Ledger has posted on their website concerning today's events. It was just updated tonight. Looks like he could practice tomorrow.

(C-L)OXFORD — Jerrell Powe could be on Ole Miss’ football practice field as early as Thursday, according to his attorney.
Don Jackson said the former Wayne County High defensive tackle applied for admission at Ole Miss today and has signed scholarship papers with the school. The university won’t receive the scholarship papers until tomorrow morning and Powe must first be admitted to the school before he can join the Rebels, but Jackson said he’s confident it will happen.“He’s relieved about it,” Jackson said. “This will be his first time putting on an Ole Miss helmet. That’s a long time coming.”The news came one day after Jackson said Powe’s nearly three-year relationship with Ole Miss was nearing an end because he was working on signing scholarship papers with the University of Miami.However, Jackson said the lines of communication with Ole Miss were opened — with the help of unnamed intermediaries — and the two sides came to an agreement. Jackson said he received a letter from athletic director Pete Boone that indicated the school was completely behind Powe in his efforts to become academically eligible, would support him and intended to sign him to a scholarship.Under NCAA rules, Ole Miss can not comment about Powe because until it has not received scholarship papers from him.Getting admitted to school and onto the practice field will be a big step for Powe, who is 6-foot-3 and weighs 330 pounds. But it doesn’t mean he’ll be eligible to play.Powe still must be ruled academically eligible by the NCAA, which recently presented Jackson with a 27-item list of required information it must have in hand before it will make a ruling on his case. Jackson said he is still in the process of gathering information for the NCAA’s review.Powe will be permitted as many as 14 days to practice while he waits for the NCAA’s ruling.“Now the next step is working with the (Ole Miss) compliance staff to try to get admission in the NCAA and try to move forward,” Jackson said. “But I’m very optimistic about him being cleared.”

Camp Talk

It was the first day of full pads today and various reports say it was a good day. A few notes from the first week of camp thus far.

• Brent Schaeffer was moved to wide receiver today and it could be a permanent move. While it was only the first or second day he has been there, it appears he could be there for good.
• Reid Neely continues to get great reviews from the offensive staff and appears he will be a big part of the offense next year and they staff will look to him for leadership
• There have been some position changes this week trying to fill a void on several parts of the field especially at Wide Receiver. They are so thin and the D-Line has enough depth that, the staff is considering playing Greg Hardy even more at wide receiver this year.
• From what I have read Chris Strong, Ted Laurent, and Johnny Brown have not been cleared by the NCAA yet. While Laurent and Brown are practicing with the team Strong has yet to suit it up with the Rebs. (Please correct me if I am wrong on this one)
• The things I hear on Mico McSwain is that it does not look promising for the swift McSwain. I hope this is wrong, McSwain has some speed and can be dangerous at times.

There are tons of more notes from fall camp but all that I can thing of at this time.

Another Spin

Things have changed yet again. All signs are pointing toward Jerrell Powe being admitted to Ole Miss tomorrow by the University. After hearing from several people it appears the University and the "Powe Camp" opened up major lines of communication again today that really gave the Powe camp and his lawyer the news they wanted. There was no more placing blame on each other and the sides reached an agreement that if Powe would apply to the University he would be admitted. It appears the paperwork has been completed and all signs point that he will be admitted tomorrow.

This only puts us in the same position we were at this time last year. While Powe may gain admission to Ole Miss tomorrow, he still has to clear the NCAA. That is the biggest hurdle that has yet be jumped. It is not known yet if Powe will be dressed out for camp before the first of next week, but I would imagine he will be given the clear to practice much like a couple of other players have been. Now will he ever step foot on the field is another story?

So why did the University all of the sudden decide to listen to the Powe Camp, I don't know. But I can imagine the fact that it was publicized yesterday that the Powe's were leaning towards Miami because Ole Miss was not showing any interest would have alot to do with the University's actions. I can also imagine the Lyceum, UMAA office, and other departments on campus received numerous phone calls from upset alums over this one. Guess it proves Money Talks.

Say it Aint So

Well well well the latest spin in the Powe saga is that he will no longer be attending Ole Miss and that the University of Miami will be working to admit Jarrell Powe. This story was reported by several news sites today. It appears some in the Powe camp have given up on the Rebels and want to go to a school that will work to get Jerrell in.

While I can say, I do not know what is going on specifically inside the Ole Miss administration, everything I read and hear from people that do know say this administration is doing its best to keep Powe from Ole Miss. Let me rephrase that, they are doing very little to help the cause to get Jerrell into school.

I have been a supporter of many of the people inside the Ole Miss administration for quite sometime. However if it turns out that Powe is admitted to Miami, I will lose it. There is absolutely no excuse to allow this to happen. While I will not call names out on this page, those of us know who is keeping Powe out of Ole Miss. And if he is admitted to another school these people should be fired. Will they be fired, doubtful. These are the same type people that have kept this athletic department down for the past thirty years.

If I am Orgeron and this kid gets into Miami, I would leave. I really would. How can you build a program with an administration that is telling you who you can and can not sign. Telling you which academic risks you can continue to recruit and tell you who you can not. And on top of that they do not help you out in a time of need when dealing with the NCAA Clearinghouse.

All I can say is that if Powe suits it for the Canes, there is going to be an uproar and I will be a part of it.

(Miami Sports Board)
Former five-star DT Jerrell Powe has tried for two years to gain admission into Ole Miss.It hasn't happened.He's taken in-person courses, on-line courses through colleges and has also re-taken standardized tests.On paper, according to father figure Joe Barnett, he's qualified with the correct number of core courses, an 18 on the ACT and a qualifying grade-point average.And now Powe is looking to attend a new school: The University of Miami.UM has scholarship spots open and could use some immediate help at defensive tackle.Powe might help fill a big need."Miami is making an attempt (to get Powe through admissions)," said Barnett, who is a father figure for Powe, who grew up in Waynesboro, Miss., without a father. "It appears they will make a commitment to take Jerrell (football-wise), and if so he will commit to them. The next 36 hours it should all get sorted out. I'd say it's a 90 percent chance he'll be a Hurricane by the end of the week."Miami had remained his next choice for a long time."One possible hangup: Powe isn't through the NCAA Clearinghouse yet.All the paperwork has been submitted, but the Clearinghouse recently came back with, according to Barnett, a "little laundry list" of things they needed clarified.Powe has a lawyer representing him for the Clearinghouse.

Ellis Qualifies for US Am

(UMAA) MADISON, Miss. – Ole Miss senior Kyle Ellis followed up Monday’s 68 with a 6-under 66 to earn a berth in the 107th U.S. Amateur Championship and claim medalist honors as well in the U.S. Amateur Sectional Qualifier at Reunion Golf Club Tuesday.

With temperatures soaring to nearly 100 degrees, Ellis, a native of Senatobia, finished five better than Jackson native, Trey Denton (139), who plays for Arizona. The sectional qualifier at Reunion Golf Club awarded two golfers the chance to compete in the nation’s premier amateur championship.

“We are very excited for Kyle,” head coach Ernest Ross said. “This is two out of the last three years he has qualified for the U.S. Amateur. It will be an absolute fantastic experience to play the Olympic Club. It is one of the most beautiful venues in the world for golf.”

“It was a good week,” Ellis said. “I’ve been practicing all summer for this. This was my main goal, to qualify for the U.S. Amateur. I am playing well right now. All the hard work is paying off. I’ve heard a lot about how good the course (Olympic Club) is, and I know it has a lot of history. My family is going to go with me, so I am looking forward to a great time.”

The 107th U.S. Amateur Championship will be held at The Olympic Club in San Francisco from Aug. 20-26. The course has played host to four U.S. Open Championships in its illustrious history with two-time U.S. Open champion Lee Janzen winning the most recent tournament in 1998.

Former Rebel Inducted Into NFL HOF Last Weekend

CANTON, Ohio (AP) -- The Pro Football Hall of Fame induction became a family affair Saturday night.

Michael Irvin lauded the Dallas Cowboys family for inspiring him to make it to Canton. Thurman Thomas asked his wife to marry him again. Charlie Sanders finally got to say "Hi Mom."

Bruce Matthews campaigned to have his brother, Clay, join him in the hall. Roger Wehrli praised the timing of his election because it allowed his grandchildren to share the special moment.

And Gene Hickerson's son, Bob, accepted on behalf of his father, who suffers from Alzheimer's disease. Then Gene was brought onto the stage in a wheelchair guided by former teammates Jim Brown, Leroy Kelly and Bobby Mitchell -- all running backs he helped get into the hall.

Bob Hickerson remembered his dad, who was too ill to sit on stage or speak, as "still leading the way for" Brown, Kelly and Mitchell. Then those three great runners turned things around by leading Hickerson onstage.

As a 248-pound guard, Hickerson played 15 seasons for the Browns, and Cleveland never had a losing record in that time. He made five straight All-Pro teams (1966-70) and in 1964 won the NFL championship.

"It's a tremendous honor and the crowning achievement of his career," Bob Hickerson said.

The Ole Ball Coach Speaks

Below are comments Steve Spurrier made today concerning the denial of a couple of players from being admitted to South Carolina, after they were previously cleared by the NCAA. I commend Spurrier for speaking up against the administration like this. However he can get away with it. There are only a handful of coaches that could get away with making the comments he did to his administration.

Now when Jerrell Powe gets rejected again in the next few weeks, do you think Ed Orgeron could get away with making statements like this, I don't think so. Orgeron would be nailed by the media and more than likely by the "good ole boys" inside the Ole Miss fanbase. For those that dog him now, this would only add more to the fire.


Columbia, S.C. — An embarrassed and angry Steve Spurrier blasted South Carolina's admissions process Sunday, apologizing to two recruits who signed with the Gamecocks last winter and were denied academic entry this summer."In my opinion, I still believe we made a mistake in doing this," Spurrier said Sunday.Spurrier had spoken with university president Andrew Sorensen and the two agreed, the coach said, that things needed to change.Spurrier was angered that receiver Michael Bowman of Wadesboro, N.C., and Arkee Smith of Jacksonville, Fla., were cleared by the NCAA to enroll, yet were turned down by the university. The rest of the Gamecocks football team officially reported Friday for preseason camp."Hopefully, I truly believe this is the last year this is going to happen, because I can't operate like that," Spurrier said. "I can't operate misleading young men."Spurrier signed a contract extension, which included a raise of nearly a half-million dollars, that ties him to South Carolina through 2012. However, he said if things didn't change on admissions "then I have to go somewhere else, because I can't tell the young man that he's coming to school here," then not have him admitted.University spokesman Russ McKinney said Spurrier has been involved in talks with Sorensen and other administrators about refining the process of athletic admissions."I think the university administration understands his frustration," McKinney said.McKinney said the goal would be to let all South Carolina coaches know as early as possible whether a prospect would meet the university's admission standards.It's not the first time athletic admissions has a chief topic for Palmetto State football fans.In February, Clemson's football program lost prospects in receiver Dwight Jones and runner Jo Jo Cox when they were turned down by the school's Athletic Advisory Review Committee.About a week later, Clemson president James Barker pledged a review of the entrance process for athletes. Clemson football coach Tommy Bowden said then he thought academic administrators there understood the importance of recruiting "on a level playing field" with other schools.And it's also not the first time that Spurrier has had influence on university policy. Before his first season, South Carolina's athletic department changed its drug testing stance from "two strikes and your out" to where it would take a fourth positive test for dismissal from school.At the time, Spurrier said the revamped guidelines were more in keeping with South Carolina's rivals. "It should be close to Alabama, Georgia, Tennessee, very much in line with the state universities in the SEC," he said in August 2005.This time, Spurrier pressed his case at the school's media day.He felt he still had the support of South Carolina administrators in going forward with changes. He did not discuss specifics of what the new admissions process should be, only that it had to change.He said his credibility took a hit with coaches, players and families who knew Bowman and Smith, two members of a recruiting class that most analysts had ranked among the 10 best in the country."For our credibility, mine and the coaching staff, I just want the high school coaches, the parents of players and all of them to know that's not going to happen here if I continue to be the coach," Spurrier said.

The Fight Continues

(NCAA Press Release)

Friday, August 3, 2007

Recent statements to Memphis Commercial Appeal and other media by attorney Donald Jackson regarding the initial eligibility request for Jerrell Powe are inaccurate. In these recent press reports, Mr. Jackson accuses the NCAA of "stalling" the decision regarding Mr. Powe's eligibility. However, Mr. Jackson did not send initial information to the NCAA regarding Mr. Powe's 2007 eligibility request until July 23, 2007 followed by more required information on July 24, with the most recent information sent on July 31. Further, this information was incomplete and the NCAA staff is in the process of preparing a document for Mr. Jackson which details the needed information that he has failed to provide. In addition, Mr. Jackson has asserted that the NCAA violated federal student privacy rights by releasing Powe’s academic record last year. In fact, Mr. Powe’s academic records were released by his former attorney, not the NCAA.

Stacey Osburn
Associate Director for Public and Media Relations

Second, Third Verse....Same as the First

Been There Done That.


OXFORD — Former Wayne County High defensive tackle Jerrell Powe won’t report for football practice at any college until at least next week, according to his attorney, Don Jackson.
Jackson said Powe is waiting for the NCAA to rule on his academic eligibility status and Jackson isn’t sure when the decision will be announced.Powe has been connected to the Ole Miss program since February of 2005, when he signed a binding national letter of intent. Powe has failed, however, to gain academic eligiblity.He is not bound by scholarship papers to Ole Miss for this fall, but his attorney has said Powe wants to play for the Rebels if he is declared eligible — and if Ole Miss will put him on scholarship.Ole Miss officials, citing the fact that Powe is considered a recruitable athlete under NCAA guidelines, have declined to talk about Powe and whether they’ll award him a scholarship.Jackson said Linda Salfrank, a Kansas City-based attorney representing the NCAA, has informed him there’s a “chance” the organization will request more information before it can make a ruling on Powe’s status, but what — if anything — is needed won’t be known until Monday.Jackson referred to the news as an “unofficial suspension” of the case and one that could cost Powe valuable practice time. Last week, Jackson said he was hoping a decision on Powe’s case would be made as early as today.“The majority of schools report this weekend,” Jackson said. “What they are doing is an intentional effort to prevent this young man to have an opportunity to sign a scholarship.”Ole Miss newcomers are scheduled to report Thursday, with veterans coming in Friday and practice starting Saturday.Salfrank did not immediately return messages today. Neither did NCAA representatives.The delay is another chapter in Powe’s ongoing quest to become academically eligible.He signed with Ole Miss in 2005, but because he didn’t meet the NCAA’s freshman academic eligibilty requirements he instead attended Hargrave (Va.) Military Academy during the 2005-06 school year.Powe signed with Ole Miss again in 2006, but he was declared ineligible after the NCAA ruled Powe received too much help from his tutor with online, independent studies courses from Brigham Young University.Powe did not sign with Ole Miss in 2007. He re-enrolled in high school, took classes online and completed work in July.Jackson said everything has been submitted to the NCAA for “several weeks” and the organization should have “5,000 pages” of Powe’s academic records.“We all know why they’re waiting until Monday,” Jackson said. “They’re waiting to try to push him back so that he can’t get onto a field this year.”
(Clarion Ledger)

Anybody Got Extra Tickets???

The season tickets were beginnning to arive in mailboxes today. This post was originally intended to call out the fact that we chose to put Rufus French on a ticket as one of our 7 for the upcoming year. I was beginning to dog UMAA and the ticket office for choosing French from among the 42 All Americans. I could not think of a more terrible idea than to put him on there if this was going to be a one time deal. HOWEVER I read further into this, and this year is the first of the next six years that the All Americans will be on the tickets. So if your favorite All American is not on the tickets this year, be on the lookout, because this will continue for the next SIX years.

So all you collectors, get ready for the Jonathan Nichols ticket, it will be a collectors item.

Facilities Update

The picture to the left is the architect's drawing released today by UMAA of the new basketball practice facility. I am still a big opponent of building it where they are, but I guess they do not care about my opinion. Below is an update from UMAA on the status of facility improvements. But we have all seen how they have screwed up the baseball expansion, so more than likely none of this will ever come to light. Do we ask for public money for anything as far as athletics go anymore.? As the article says below we are still $1.5 mil shy for the basketball facility. I don't see this breaking ground for at least another year. I continue to say this is going to cost us Andy Kennedy. The lack of support from the administration and the fan base will be to blame.

(UMAA)

Basketball Practice Facility
"The facility is going to be located at the vacant lot across from the Gillom Center, at the corner of Coliseum Drive and Hill Drive. A total of $4.5 million has been pledged in cash, and we are continuing to work towards the $6 million mark. Once we reach that point, we will start a public fund-raising drive and begin the documents process, as far as blueprints and construction bids."

Oxford-University Stadium Expansion
"We are at the final stages of the 2008 ticket brochure and hope to have it mailed out by the middle of August. General time frame for the expansion is as follows. We expect to advertise for construction bids in September. The contractors will then have 30 days to review the bids, and if a bid is awarded, there will be an additional 30 to 40 days before starting construction. Any plans will have as minimum an impact on the team as possible."

Palmer/Salloum Tennis Center Expansion
"The renovation is a $2 million project. We currently have $1.1 million committed and are aggressively working on other donors. The plans include some additional seating capacity, but the major objective is to enhance our player lounge area, including lockerrooms and study area, and the coaches' offices."