April 1, 2011

Video

OXFORD, Miss. - On the eve of its first scrimmage of spring football drills, Ole Miss trained outdoors for two sunny hours Friday evening in the fourth practice of the spring and second in full pads.

"Today was a mental day," said Rebel head coach Houston Nutt. "We tried to get some things corrected and work on some blitzes.

"Tomorrow is going to be an over 100-play scrimmage. It's going to be quite long, but everybody is going to get some good work. I'm looking forward to it."

After reviewing the film from Thursday, Nutt singled out a couple of relative unknowns to Ole Miss fans that could play key roles in the fall. After graduating four senior defensive tackles, freshman Carlton Martin is in a position to compete for snaps in 2011 after redshirting a year ago.

"Carlton Martin had an unbelievable day yesterday," Nutt said. "He was really outstanding. I was really proud of him. He stood out."

The other player Nutt noted from the film was sophomore Alex Williams, who is in his fourth position since arriving on campus. He played defensive end and linebacker as a true freshmen, wide receiver as a redshirt freshman and now tight end.

"Alex Williams, who moved to tight end (this spring), made a beautiful catch," said Nutt. "And he is blocking better than we thought. He's added some weight. He is a good route-runner. Tomorrow will be a good test for him."

Nutt said the quarterback quartet was just "ok" on Friday but said he is looking forward to seeing the group challenged in Saturday's scrimmage.

"We're going to try and get each of them a series with the ones, and each of them will get a series or two with the twos," he said. "A lot of times you find out more with the twos. But everyone will get their share of work."

Action will get underway at 10:45 a.m. in Vaught-Hemingway Stadium, and fans are instructed to enter and sit on the west side.

Spring drills will culminate with the BancorpSouth Grove Bowl, April 16 at 1 p.m. at Vaught Hemingway Stadium/ Hollingsworth Field. That Saturday will also include an awards ceremony and panel discussion at 11 a.m. with several former Rebel standouts from the NFL ranks.

Other events surrounding Grove Bowl Week include the inaugural Rebels' Choice Awards, Monday, April 11 at the Gertrude C. Ford Center for Performing Arts and the Chucky Mullins Courage Award Banquet, Thursday, April 14 at the Indoor Practice Facility. Tickets for both are available through the UM Box Office.