Below is HottyToddy.com’s weekly round up of Ole Miss sports for the week of July 28 – August 3.
[dhr]
Football
The college football season is less than a month away, and the Ole Miss Rebels are well represented in the preseason honors that have been handed out this summer.
As Hugh Freeze’s team prepares for the highly anticipated 2014 season, Ole Miss has been tabbed a top-25 team by such publications as Phil Steele (16th), Athlon (18th), Lindy’s (18th) and Sporting News (20th).
Senior Cody Prewitt and sophomores Evan Engram, Robert Nkemdiche, Laquon Treadwell andLaremy Tunsil have all been tabbed preseason All-Americans by various outlets. Watch lists for the nation’s top awards like the Maxwell, Outland and Walter Camp are littered with Rebels.
Prewitt, a first team All-America selection at free safety last year, has been named to four major award watch lists this preseason – the Walter Camp Award, Chuck Bednarik Award, Jim Thorpe Award and Bronko Nagurski Trophy.
Nkemdiche, a defensive tackle, finds himself on three watch lists – Bronko Nagurski Trophy, Outland Trophy and Rotary Lombardi Award. Bo Wallace, the Rebels’ third-year starting quarterback, is on watch lists for the Maxwell Award and Davey O’Brien Award.
The Rebels get the college football season started in the Chick-fil-A Kickoff Game against Boise State onThursday, Aug. 28 in Atlanta’s Georgia Dome (7 p.m. CT, ESPN).
Follow Ole Miss Football on Twitter (@OleMissFB) and Facebook (Facebook.com/OleMissFootball)
Ole Miss Preseason Honors (broken down by player):
Serderius Bryant
CFPA Linebacker Trophy watch list
No. 6 OLB in the nation (Lindy’s)
No. 6 LB in the SEC (ESPN.com)
All-SEC 2nd team (Birmingham News, CFB Matrix, Lindy’s, Phil Steele)
All-SEC 3rd team (League Media, Athlon, College Sports Madness)
Tony Conner
All-SEC 2nd team (League Media, Athlon, Lindy’s, Phil Steele
All-SEC 3rd team (College Sports Madness)
No. 3 safety in the SEC (ESPN.com)
Evan Engram
John Mackey Award watch list
CFPA Tight End Trophy watch list
All-America 3rd team (Sporting News)
All-SEC 1st team (CFB Matrix)
All-SEC 3rd team (Athlon)
All-SEC 4th team (Phil Steele)
No. 3 TE in the SEC (ESPN.com)
Issac Gross
No. 8 DT in the SEC (ESPN.com)
C.J. Johnson
All-SEC 3rd team (College Sports Madness, Lindy’s)
All-SEC 4th team (Phil Steele)
No. 8 DE in the SEC (ESPN.com)
Aaron Morris
All-SEC 2nd team (Athlon)
Denzel Nkemdiche
All-SEC 2nd team (League Media)
All-SEC 3rd team (College Sports Madness)
Robert Nkemdiche
Bronko Nagurski Trophy watch list
Outland Trophy watch list
Rotary Lombardi Award watch list
All-America 2nd team (Athlon)
All-America 3rd team (College Sports Madness)
All-America 4th team (Phil Steele)
All-SEC 1st team (League Media, Athlon, Birmingham News, College Sports Madness, Phil Steele)
All-SEC 2nd team (CFB Matrix, Lindy’s)
No. 9 DT in the nation (Lindy’s)
No. 18 player in the SEC (ESPN.com)
No. 3 DT in the SEC (ESPN.com)
Cody Prewitt
Walter Camp Award watch list
Chuck Bednarik Award watch list
Jim Thorpe Award watch list
Bronko Nagurski Trophy watch list
CFPA Defensive Back Trophy watch list
All-America 1st team (CFB Matrix, Lindy’s, Phil Steele)
All-America 2nd team (Athlon, College Sports Madness, Sporting News)
All-SEC 1st team (League Media, Athlon, Birmingham News, CFB Matrix, College Sports Madness, Lindy’s, Phil Steele, USA Today)
No. 1 safety in the nation (Lindy’s)
No. 86 player in the nation (ESPN.com)
No. 12 player in the SEC (ESPN.com)
No. 1 safety in the SEC (ESPN.com)
Deterrian Shackelford
Lott IMPACT Trophy watch list
AFCA Good Works nominee
Laquon Treadwell
Biletnikoff Award watch list
CFPA Wide Receiver Trophy watch list
All-America 2nd team (CFB Matrix)
All-America 3rd team (Athlon)
All-SEC 1st team (Athlon, CFB Matrix, USA Today)
All-SEC 2nd team (League Media, College Sports Madness, Lindy’s, Phil Steele)
No. 15 WR in the nation (Lindy’s)
No. 20 player in the SEC (ESPN.com)
No. 2 WR in the SEC (ESPN.com)
Laremy Tunsil
Outland Trophy watch list
All-America 2nd team (Sporting News)
All-America 3rd team (Athlon)
All-SEC 1st team (League Media, Athlon, CFB Matrix, College Sports Madness, Lindy’s, USA Today)
All-SEC 2nd team (Birmingham News, Phil Steele)
No. 8 OT in the nation (Lindy’s)
No. 66 player in the nation (ESPN.com)
Best Pass Blocker in the SEC (ESPN.com)
No. 15 player in the SEC (ESPN.com)
No. 3 OL in the SEC (ESPN.com)
Bo Wallace
Maxwell Award watch list
Davey O’Brien Award watch list
CFPA Quarterback Trophy watch list
All-SEC 2nd team (Athlon, Lindy’s, Phil Steele)
All-SEC 3rd team (League Media, College Sports Madness, CFB Matrix)
No. 11 QB in the nation (Lindy’s)
SEC’s Most Accurate Passer (Lindy’s)
No. 3 QB in the SEC (ESPN.com)
Jaylen Walton
No. 8 kick returner in the SEC (ESPN.com)
— Ole Miss Sports Information
[dhr]
Rifle
Melissa Quartarone Joins Ole Miss Rifle Staff as Assistant Coach
Photo by Ole Miss Athletics
Melissa Quartarone, who wrapped up an outstanding four-year career for the Ole Miss rifle team in 2014, returns to her alma mater as an assistant coach, head coach Valerie Boothe announced Monday.
Quartarone, a native of Stone Mountain, Georgia, was a second-team All-American in smallbore as a sophomore in 2012 and was named to the GARC second team in smallbore and air rifle. As a junior in 2013, Quartarone earned GARC honors in combined. She concluded her career posting the top aggregate average on the team with an 1159.6 in 2014 and contributed to the team score in all 15 matches in both air rifle and smallbore.
“Melissa has been building her coaching skills in the summer for a couple of years now with clubs in Georgia,” Boothe said. “I’m excited that she can put those skills to use for us. I know she is a fierce competitor and that will translate great into recruiting and helping us reach a new level of competitiveness. She has my trust and that of the returning team members. The sky’s the limit.”
Off the range, Quartarone was an excellent student, earning Collegiate Rifle Coaches’ Association Academic All-America honors all four years. She graduated in May with a bachelor’s degree in Forensic Chemistry.
For more information on Ole Miss Rifle, follow the Rebels on Twitter at @OleMissRifle and on Facebook at OleMissRifle.
–Kim Ling, Ole Miss Sports Information
[dhr]
Men’s Tennis
Taylor Vaughn Joins Ole Miss Men’s Tennis Staff
Photo by Ole Miss Athletics
Ole Miss men’s tennis head coach Toby Hansson has had a busy summer transitioning to his new role as the leader of the program, and on Monday he announced the addition ofTaylor Vaughn as assistant coach.
Vaughn comes to Ole Miss with seven years of experience in coaching. Most recently he spent six years at his alma mater, UNCW. While at UNCW, Vaughn helped lead the Seahawks to five NCAA appearances and four Colonial Athletic Association Championships.
“I am excited to welcome Taylor to the Ole Miss family after a successful six years with the UNCW tennis program,” Hansson said. “Taylor is an experienced coach with a proven track record of developing young players. His knack for connecting with players and his unparalleled enthusiasm will be an asset to the team. We look forward to continuing the tradition of success of the Ole Miss men’s tennis program.”
Vaughn helped bring in outstanding talent to Wilmington, including recent two-time CAA Player-of-the-Year Rafael Aita. The Seahawks most recent recruiting class earned a ranking of No. 23 by TennisRecruiting.net, ahead of several top-25 teams.
Off the court, the Seahawks were outstanding in the classroom, earning the ITA All-Academic Team Award three of the past four years. Several players also earned ITA Scholar-Athlete status.
A native of New Orleans, Vaughn started his playing career at Louisiana-Monroe before transferring to UNCW. Vaughn played two seasons with the Seahawks in 2003-04 and 2004-05 and won the Golden Seahawk Scholar Athlete Award in 2004-05.
Vaughn earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in health and physical education from UNCW in 2005, with a concentration in exercise science.
Following graduation, Vaughn joined Louisiana-Monroe’s staff as an assistant coach. During his time with the War Hawks, Vaughn was responsible for recruiting, player development, and assisting in all aspects of the program.
Vaughn is married to UNCW alumnus Georgia Vaughn.
For more information on Ole Miss men’s tennis, follow the Rebels on Twitter at @OleMissMTennis and on Facebook at OleMissMTennis.
— Kim Ling, Ole Miss Sports Information
[dhr]
Men’s Track and Field
Ole Miss freshman Jalen Miller (Tunica, Mississippi) made his final race of the season count.
Running leadoff for Team USA’s 4×100-meter relay team, Miller helped the Americans win a gold medal with a time of 38.70 at the IAAF World Junior Championships on Saturday at historic Hayward Field.
The Americans’ winning time was just .04 seconds off the world junior record (set by Team USA in 2004) and the third-fastest in history.
The other members of the quartet were Trayvon Bromell (Baylor), Kendal Williams (Florida State signee) and Trentavis Friday (Florida State signee).
In his first collegiate season, Miller was an Indoor All-American, a two-time SEC Freshman of the Week, a bronze medalist at USA Juniors and gold medalist at World Juniors. He helped set a school record in the 4×100-meter relay to advance to the NCAA Outdoor Championships and has run some of the fastest times in school history in the short sprints.
This is just the latest in a flurry of success by current and former Ole Miss athletes on the world track & field stage. Last year, Sam Kendricks won gold in the men’s pole vault at the World University Games in Kazan, Russia. Former Rebel Brittney Reese is a six-time world champion in the women’s long jump, including gold at the 2012 London Olympics. Isiah Young was a semifinalist in that Olympic Games.
Mike Granger was the most recent Ole Miss athlete to medal at the World Junior Championships. He also claimed gold for Team USA in the 4×100-meter relay in 2010.
For more information on Ole Miss Track & Field, follow the Rebels on Twitter at @OleMissTrack and on Facebook at Ole Miss Track.
–Ole Miss Sports Information
Recent Comments