The Weekend That Was

On the Magnolia Bowl:It was one of the most fun games I have ever been to. The Rebels pretty much dominated the whole game, aside from when Snead appeared to be hurt towards the end of the first half, I felt pretty good. Peria Jerry continues to be the most dominate player at Ole Miss in quite sometime. That is really a guy that we are going to miss next year. He clogs up the middle better than anyone in the SEC and dominates the offensive front of the opposing team. Hard to argue that he is not an All American. Also outstanding play from Kendrick Lewis last weekend. I thought he brought his A game and when not catching passes he was throwing some hard licks on defense.Bottom line this was the most sound game a Rebel team has played in several years. And I loved every minute of it. Congrats to Houston and staff.

On the Egg Bowl: As it is an instate rival, you can throw all the records out the window. Bottom line if the Rebels show up to play we win. I think that Ole Miss is more talented that the Bulldog$ and should show up. I think Houston will have this team ready. Don't get me wrong, I will be nervous to the very end, and am not taking this game lightly. One thing I do know if we do win, we will not put up billboards across the state like some classless teams may do.

On the Bowl Season: Win and the Rebels probably play in the Cotton or Outback. Lose and the Rebels play in Peach or Music City. While I would to have the honor again of going to the historic Cotton Bowl, I am afraid of what may happen if we do. A Big 12 matchup does not pose well for the Rebels. My first hope is Outback but understand it is a stretch. On the flip side if we mess around and lose to the Bulldog$, I think the Rebels will go to the Peach. I don't buy this argument that the Peach does not want Ole Miss. Let me restate, lets don't look past the $tate game.

On Houston Nutt: Man what a great addition this guy is to the University of Mississippi. He brought more life back to the Rebel fan base than I thought he could in one year. He has done great things with this team, and they all seem to love him. Thank you Arkansas. I will tell you this if our athletic department screws around and messes something up with him, I will personally lead the charge for an administration change. We should all demand immediately lynching.

On the Fans: Most of you know my opinion of the Ole Miss fanbase this year. But there is no excuse we should not have the stadium full on Friday(while we are on it, this game should move this game back to Saturday). The RoadRebels in Baton Rouge were awesome. It was a great crowd, and I was very proud to be a part of it. Glad to see everyone supporting the team. I don't care where you have Turkey on Thursday, most do not have work, so get to the game.(Rebel or Bulldog)

Couple of Rebs Pick Up Honors

(UMAA)BIRMINGHAM, Ala. -- For only the second time since the Southeastern Conference began handing out Players of the Week awards in 1983, Ole Miss has two selections from one game, as Peria Jerry and Daverin Geralds are this week's defensive line and offensive line honorees, respectively, the league office announced today.

Jerry becomes only the second Rebel to receive weekly accolades from the conference three times in one season, as he also earned defensive line distinction following the Arkansas and Vanderbilt games. Running back Randy Baldwin was also a three-time honoree for Ole Miss in 1990.



A senior tackle from Batesville, Miss., Jerry accounted for three total tackles with 2.5 TFLs, including a sack in Ole Miss’ 31-13 win at No. 18 LSU Saturday. Jerry helped the Rebels limit the Tigers to just 37 rushing yards on 29 attempts and sacked LSU quarterbacks four times.

An All-American candidate, Jerry is second in the SEC in tackles for loss, with 13 in 10 games played and boasts four sacks. He captains an Ole Miss defense that ranks second in the nation in TFLs (8.36 pg) and ninth in rushing yards allowed (97.4 ypg), which is second-best in the SEC.

Geralds' Player of the Week selection is the first of his career and gives the Rebels an offensive lineman honoree for the third straight game, as Maurice Miller took home POW accolades following the Auburn game and Michael Oher after ULM.

A junior center from Baton Rouge, Geralds returned home to grade out at 88 percent with eight knockdown blocks and 12 finishes against LSU. The Rebels gained 409 total offensive yards and kept the ball for 34:38 against the Tigers.

In the final quarter, Geralds and the Ole Miss offense kept the ball for 10:01, and in five scoring drives, the Rebels averaged 7.6 plays and 69 yards per drive.
After beginning his career on the defensive front, Geralds shifted to the offensive line midway through the 2007 campaign and has started every game at center this season. He has helped Ole Miss rank third in the SEC in rushing offense (180.1 ypg) and fourth in fewest sacks allowed (1.36 pg) this year.

The last time Ole Miss had two SEC Players of the Week from the same game was 1991, when kicker Brian Lee and defensive tackle Chad Brown were distinguished following the 22-3 season-opening win over Tulane. The Rebels have garnered seven weekly awards from the conference this season.

Ole Miss (7-4, 4-3 SEC) closes out the regular season Friday against Mississippi State (4-7, 2-5) in the 81st Battle for the Golden Egg and the 105th meeting in the series, which the Rebels lead 59-39-6. The game will be televised by Raycom Sports with kickoff set for 11:30 a.m. CT from Vaught-Hemingway Stadium.

Huge Blow For Rebels

Combining the loss of Trevor Gaskins and Eniel Polynice is a huge blow for the Rebel basketball team. Pre-season this was looking like it could be a pretty good season for the Rebs. But the loss of two of the top players will truly hurt the Rebels this year. It is going to be hard to recover.

(UMAA)OXFORD, Miss. – The Ole Miss men’s basketball team lost a key member of its backcourt for the second time in less than two weeks when the team learned Tuesday that starting junior guard Eniel Polynice will miss the remainder of the season following knee surgery.



Polynice had arthroscopic surgery on his left knee Tuesday. The procedure was a follow-up to an initial injury at the end of last season, when he missed the Rebels’ first-round NIT game against UC Santa Barbara.



“The surgery consisted of an articular cartilage transplant, removal of loose fragments and addressing a torn lateral meniscus,” said surgeon William Geissler of the University of Mississippi Medical Center. “He will be in rehabilitation and out of play for the next four to six months.”



In his third season as a member of the Rebels, Polynice was expected to be one of the primary pieces of a Rebel backcourt touted by at least one publication (Blue Ribbon Yearbook) as the best in the Southeastern Conference. The Sarasota, Fla., native averaged 10.7 points, 5.3 rebounds and 4.1 assists in 34 games last year, including 31 starts. Ole Miss coach Andy Kennedy has routinely called Polynice the team’s best perimeter defender, as well.



“Anytime a team loses its most experienced player, there will obviously be adjustments that have to be made,” said Kennedy. “I feel bad for EP because I know how hard he worked in preparing for his junior year. The season-ending surgery was necessary to ensure his future as an athlete. We will apply for a medical redshirt, which we feel confident he will get. His loss creates a great opportunity for our young players.”



The news comes just 11 days after the team found out that sophomore guard Trevor Gaskins, an SEC All-Freshman pick a year ago, would be lost for the year after suffering an ACL tear in his left knee.



Five scholarship guards remain on the Rebels’ roster, including Preseason All-SEC first team point guard Chris Warren, junior David Huertas, sophomore Zach Graham and freshmen Will Bogan and Terrico White.



The Rebels will take their thinned-out roster into a non-league clash with South Alabama tonight at 7 p.m. at Tad Smith Coliseum.

A LEGEND RETURNS

OXFORD — When the whistle blows on Friday night, signalling the first timeout of the game between Ole Miss and Arkansas State, the Rebels' student managers will scurry around the team, arranging chairs, grabbing towels and filling water cups.And a 41-year-old man with salt-and-pepper hair will be among them.His role will be slightly different, listening in on the huddle talk and offering some occasional encouragement. But mostly he'll try to stay in the background, listen and learn, blending in with the rest of the managers.And that's just fine with Gerald Glass, who's had his time in the spotlight at Tad Smith Coliseum. These days, he's happy to go unnoticed."I'll just soak it all up," Glass said. "Basketball's my passion. It's what I love. To have this opportunity is unbelievable and something I couldn't refuse."Nearly 20 years after averaging 26.1 points per game during a terrific two-year career at Ole Miss, Glass has returned to Oxford to finish his undergraduate degree."It's time for me to get that paper," Glass said.And to help pay for the final 42 credit hours he needs to complete his criminal justice major, Glass is on scholarship as an undergraduate manager for the basketball team.He and Ole Miss coach Andy Kennedy are contemporaries from their playing days (Kennedy played at UAB) and even toured together on the same NIT All-Star team that played for a few weeks around Europe in 1989.So when Kennedy heard Glass was looking to finish his degree, he jumped at the chance to get him on staff."It's great to have a guy that's not only talked the talk but walked the walk," Kennedy said. "All these kids want to play in the NBA and think they're first-round picks. Gerald's been there, done that and can offer our kids some perspective on a variety of issues."Glass was taken by the Minnesota Timberwolves with the 20th overall pick in the 1990 NBA draft. He played in the NBA for four seasons and spent several more overseas before coming home to Mississippi in 1999 and finding that life without "that paper" made things difficult.First, it was a stint in Jackson where he managed rental properties. Then, he moved down to Port Gibson where he worked at a casino for four years. They weren't bad jobs, but they certainly weren't fulfilling."It paid the bills," Glass said. "But I missed basketball. And I couldn't get a coaching job at any level without getting that paper - that degree."Most of the current Ole Miss players were in diapers when Glass was playing in the SEC, but even though he's old enough to be their dad, his easygoing personality has meshed well with the team.Sophomore Zach Graham said the connection with Glass was instant and players constantly pick his brain about what life was like in the NBA."He's a great presence on the court," Graham said. "We sit and talk to him about the Timberwolves or sometimes we just talk about life. He's exactly like us, just older."While basketball is certainly a major part of his life these days, Glass is also having to take a heavy class load so he can be done by his target date of August. He has a small apartment in Oxford, but his wife - the former Jackie Martin, who was also a star basketball player at Ole Miss - and two sons, 12-year-old Gerald Jr. and 8-year-old Jalen have stayed back in Port Gibson. Being away has been tough.Gerald Jr. is only in seventh grade but already is over 6 feet tall and wears a size 13 shoe. Considering his pedigree, his dad has little doubt he'll be an outstanding basketball player someday.But he also wants him to know that should basketball not work out, there's other ways to make a living. And it's a lot easier if you've got that paper."I've always wanted to be an example to my kids," Glass said. "Being away from them is tough, but the cause is worth it."