HottyToddy.com’s Daily Ole Miss Sports Roundup

Hottytoddy.com is giving readers a roundup of all the commentary and information about the Ole Miss Rebels from various publications around the Web.

Readers will be able to check out the latest information in a single post every day throughout the year. Here at HottyToddy.com, we are doing all the leg work to find the information that people may want to hear about Ole Miss sports.

Today’s roundup features Saturday Down South, The Rebel Walk and Red Cup Rebellion.

(In)experience at QB: Examining SEC starters for 2016

Chad Kelly
Photo by John Bowen

Seven SEC teams enter spring ball with some degree of uncertainty at quarterback. A couple more teams have a starter in mind but must wait for performance to provide clarity.

That leaves a precious few SEC teams with an experienced quarterback.

Here’s a look at this year’s 14 potential starters, categorized by level of experience:

PROVEN EXPERIENCE

These quarterbacks have started for at least one full season:

Chad Kelly, Ole Miss: Kelly made a smooth transition from East Mississippi Community College to the SEC, leading the league in passing yards (4,042) and touchdowns last season (31). Even with the loss of two potential first-round picks from the his supporting cast, he enters 2016 as a SEC Player of the Year candidate and a Heisman Trophy contender.

Courtesy of Randy Caps and  Saturday Down South

Insell confident Ole Miss shots will begin to fall

Coach Matt Insell
Photo by Ellen O’Nan/Ole Miss Athletics

Head coach Matt Insell realizes missed shots have plagued his Ole Miss women’s basketball team this season and kept them from notching some key wins in the Southeastern Conference. He also realizes there’s not much that can be done—except to keep shooting until the shots start falling–and remains confident his young team will continue to improve.

Insell saw the shots fall – 41.2 percent of them – in the Rebels’ 73-65 home win over Kentucky back on Jan. 21, but hasn’t seen as many hit their mark since. And in Sunday’s 61-50 loss to then-No. 14 Mississippi State, the shooting woes continued.

As a team, Ole Miss (10-17, 2-12) shot 26.3 percent (15-for-57) from the field and missed on 11 of 14 three-point attempts.

“We are just not making shots; that’s just the story of who we are right now,” Insell said. “We played real hard; we have a chance to win games. We are just not making shots. We are one player away from being pretty good.

“That’s just the process right now of building our program. We will continue to grow.”

Courtesy of Courtney Smith and TheRebelWalk.com

3-star OL Ben Brown commits to Ole Miss

Coach Hugh Freeze
Photo by John Bowen

Hugh Freeze made damn sure he secured the best offensive line class in 2016 and now he’s adding to it with three-star offensive lineman Ben Brown, who announced his commitment to Ole Miss on Twitter. The 21st-ranked player in the state of Mississippi didn’t wait too long after an offer was extended his way on Feb. 19.

Brown’s commitment is significant for the sole fact that you can never have too many talented men in the trenches. Given the fact that Ole Miss signed six O-lineman in the 2016 cycle, Freeze can be a bit more selective in 2017. Speaking of selective, Brown is yet another croot from a long line of family members who selected the Rebels. His father, grandparents and uncle played for Ole Miss.

Ben chose the Rebels pretty early in the process, so his offer sheet isn’t as extensive: Louisiana Tech, Louisiana-Lafayette, Missouri and Southern Miss. The St. Aloysius product is the third Ole Miss commitment in the 2017 class joining D.D. Bowie and Markel Winters.

How does he fit in?

Already 6’6, 290-pounds, Brown has the sturdy frame that O-line coach Matt Luke is looking for in his croots. When you take a look at Brown’s film, the aggression and finisher attitude jumps off the screen immediately. He has the length to get out on the perimeter for reach blocks and also to settle in his kick slides and fend off speed rushers.

Courtesy of Zach Berry and the Red Cup Rebellion

The SEC Baseball Tournament could be headed to New Orleans or Memphis

Hoover, Ala. has played host to the SEC Baseball Tournament for nearly two decades, but that tradition may change in 2017 as the Birmingham suburb’s five-year contract is set to expire after this season’s conference tilt. As reported by The Advocate, the conference has disseminated bidding information to about a dozen cities in the southeast, among them nearby Memphis, New Orleans and Nashville.

Hoover could remain the host site, of course, but the city sports commissions in other southern cities appear keen on bringing college ball to their respective burgs. NOLA and Nashville have already submitted their bids and Memphis, Orlando and Jacksonville are expected to do so by the deadline on close of business Wednesday. The final decision will be announced will be a announced either right before or right after this year’s tournament, which will run May 24-29.

New Orleans is of especial interest to Ole Miss fans, not least because of the affinity felt for the Crescent City by many in Oxford. According to The Times-Picayune, the Louisiana Senate voted on Feb. 17 to use funds from the Major Events Incentive Program to go toward a hosting bid campaign.

Even more preferred would be the hour’s drive north to AutoZone Park, where the Rebs already play an annual regular season game against Memphis.

According to The Tennessean, Nashville Sports Council President and CEO Scott Ramsey is “excited … because we think it would not only be a great fit for First Tennessee Park and Nashville, but a great opportunity for us at the Sports Council as well.” Indeed.

Courtesy of Jim Lohmar and the Red Cup Rebellion

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