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| I'Tavius Mathers told the Tennessean he is transferring. |
According to the Tennesseean, I'Tavius Mathers confirmed he is transferring from Ole Miss for his senior season of football. The running back had a disappointing junior season (290 yards) considering many expected him to be the starter coming out of the 2014 Grove Bowl. After that scrimmage, Freeze said Mathers was special in talking about a breakaway run that traversed the field. But Mathers was never able to produce in 2014 (nor did any other running back really), and his carries diminished late in the season as Freeze tried to find a spark with Jordan Wilkins. Mathers probably wasn't going to get many more carries next season. The 2015 backfield is crowded, especially with freshman Eric Swinney coming in and Akeem Judd's red shirt coming off. Jaylen Walton figures to be the primary back with Wilkins, Swinney, Judd, and Eugene Brazley competing for carries. That doesn't bode well for a kid who probably still has NFL dreams. Mathers, a two-time Tennesseee player of the year in high school, probably wants the chance to be a primary back in his senior season so he can make those NFL dreams come true, but that's just a guess on my part. LINK
Rebels Host Gamecocks
Ole Miss (9-5, 0-1 SEC) hosts South Carolina at 4 p.m. today (FSN and WatchESPN.com). The Rebels are 11-1 against South Carolina when playing in Oxford, and have won 3 out of the last 4 meetings in the series. The Gamecocks (9-4) seem to be steadily improving under head coach Frank Martin, having beaten then No. 9 Iowa State on a neutral floor a week ago and narrowly losing to Florida on Wednesday. The Rebels had their own impressive narrow loss (if there is such a thing) this week at No. 1 Kentucky. If Ole Miss attacks the Gamecocks with the same vigor it did the Wildcats in that OT loss then the Rebels should win this one. This team played sporadically during the non-conference schedule, with some impressive road wins and some disappointing home losses. Today will be a good test to see if Andy Kennedy will be able to get some consistent effort from the Rebels during SEC play. That starts with Stefan Moody, who finally played like the player he was recruited to replace - Marshall Henderson - in scoring 25 points against UK. If Moody can keep that up and Jarvis Summer and Snoop White contribute, the Rebels will be fine. I still have hopes this team could surprise a few people, but winning at home is critical. Today's game is big in that regard. Every SEC game is big. We all know that. LINK.
South Carolina plays great defense, so today will be a real test for the Rebels. LINK