Hugh Freeze Set to Begin Chapter 3

Hugh Freeze finds his Ole Miss team in a much better place than it was in the previous two Augusts as the Rebels begin preseason practice for Chapter 3 of the Journey on Saturday.

"Year three of the journey is the first time that I can stand and say today before you guys that on day one of camp everyone is eligible," Freeze said at Ole Miss Media Day on Friday. "We’re not scrambling around trying to get someone eligible at this point, which is a great testimony to our academic support staff and the job that they’ve done."

Whereas two years ago Freeze's most pressing concern was finding players, now he has a team stacked deep with experienced, SEC-caliber talent at many positions, and the coach is trying to find the balance between preparation and preservation. Many expected starters are known quantities. Keeping those starters healthy is more important than having them prove themselves on the practice field.

"Now, we really feel like we have a team that can be good," Freeze said. "Hopefully we can go from good to great. That changes if you have injuries. The line that you worry about, particularly with us still having some depth issues, is how do you get done what you need to do and develop depth and create a competitive, juiced practice and still stay as healthy as you can."

Hidden in Freeze's worries about health - he knows deep down that this team has the potential to be really, really good. Freeze may not say that out loud or quite so boldly, but he knows year three could be special if a few bounces go the Rebels way, and Ole Miss doesn't lose key players to injury. The losses of Evan Engram, Aaron Morris and C.J. Johnson to injury last year probably cost the Rebels at least one game. That's what Freeze is hoping to avoid.

But if the worst were to happen, there is some comfort in knowing that Year 3 of the Ole Miss Journey has a substantially deeper roster than it did in Freeze's first two years.

One position that suddenly has a little depth is tight end. Evan Engram is back. Freshman Sammie Epps is expected to immediately compete for playing time, and Freeze announced that former Lafayette H.S. quarterback Jeremy Liggins is moving to tight end. It makes sense. Liggins is large with soft hands and he's accustomed to having the ball in his hands. With the move the Rebels should have a good 3-deep at tight end, which is one reason why Channing Ward is moving back to defense. Ward was moved to tight end in the spring, but the move just didn't work out. Freeze said Ward wanted to move back to defense. 

Another position that looks much improved depth-wise: corner, thanks to the arrival on campus of one Tee Shepard. Freeze has high hopes for Shepard. 

“I expect Tee to come in and hopefully be a lockdown corner that we may have been missing," Freeze said. "He’s got the size, strength and speed. He’s physical. I love his attitude. The guy smiles all the time. He’s excited to be here. I like our depth at corner. This is the first time I can say that. I really like it. We’ve got some good possibilities there with he and Senquez (Golson) and Kailo (Moore) and Derrick Jones and Cliff Coleman and Carlos Davis and depending on where we play (Mike) Hilton. Hilton is one of the best football players on our team. When I’m hesitant about where he’s playing, he’ll be on the field. When we did our cut ups, he stood out. He’s a football player."

Offensive line is probably the one position group where depth will be an issue, which will come as no surprise for most of you. The coaches will use the month of August to get young and new guys ready to play - possibly even transfer Christian Morris, who is healthy and awaiting a green light from the NCAA. While preparation will be vital for the youngsters, the Rebels can't afford to lose anyone. 

“We’ve got to be careful," Freeze said. "We’re OK inside, depth wise. On the edges, we’re very, very thin. Obviously we have a special one in Laremy Tunsil. We hope and pray that he has a healthy and outstanding year. We hope Fahn Cooper is exactly what we thought he would be. We have to start getting depth ready behind those guys. (Robert) Conyers is going to have to learn both center and tackle. Rod Taylor is going to have to learn guard and tackle. Davion (Johnson) is going to have to learn tackle. We’re thin on the edges. We hopefully can keep them healthy. We have to fix that in recruiting. We feel like one more class should help with that. We do have to be careful with the ones we know what they can do and get them game ready. Hopefully we won’t have any injuires.”

The most unsettled position on the field are at punter and placekicker. These positions don't get talked about much, but they're vital. Field position and points are at stake. 

"I’m really anxious," Freeze said. "I’m probably as most anxious when we go out our first time to see our field goal kicker, kicker competition and our punting guys. I’ve seen the punter. He was here this spring. It’s still a competitive battle there. (Will) Gleeson has the edge right now, as far as the punting duties. The kicking duties are wide open. I expect Andy (Pappanastos) and Gary (Wunderlich) to have a great competition for that and maybe (Andrew) Fletcher, too. Nathan Noble will handle the kickoff duties. That is a question mark on our team. That is something that can keep us from being great."

Practice starts today. 

The 3rd year of the Journey is underway.