2010 Ole Miss Football Preview: Quarterbacks

Over the next couple of weeks I will offer an early preview of the 2010 Ole Miss Football Team. I will write on the positions for which the team has question marks and at which it is counting on untested players to fill starting spots.  I welcome and appreciate comments.

For me the question is not “Who will start at QB for Ole Miss next year?” as much as it is “Why don’t we know for sure?” 

The least of Coach Nutt’s concerns when he came to Ole Miss two years ago was starting quarterback.  Blue-chipper Jevan Snead was there and won 18 games over the next two seasons.

With that type of umbrella over the position, Coach Nutt had a two-year reprieve to get someone in the program and on the page to prevent Snead’s departure from leaving a sizable hole.

Much maligned by Arkansas fans for failing to develop quarterbacks during his tenure, Coach Nutt needs rising redshirt sophomore Nathan Stanley to prove that the tutelage he received the last two years is good enough to lead the team to its third consecutive winning season. 

While Stanley possesses the measurables and many of the metrics, the quarterback position is up for grabs. A great—not good—spring practice would stabilize an offensive unit that appears to have ready talent, but lots of questions. 

Stanley, from Tahlequah, OK, is not expected to carry the team singularly.  However, he must show the ability to continue the 30 points (32.1 in 2008, 29.5 in 2009) per game average OC Kent Austin’s offense produced with Snead at the helm. 

The talent at the skill positions around Stanley is largely unproven, though it might be even more dynamic—as a whole—than the previous two years. 

Considering the losses of Dexter McCluster and Shay Hodge, two of the best in school history, that says a lot.  Stanley’s task is to do something Snead struggled with: get everyone involved in the game. 

Stanley’s success will ultimately hinge on his ability to connect with multiple targets from multiple formations. 

Ole Miss fans and opposing defenses saw limited variety in set formations this year.  Coach Austin was forced to scale back the playbook due to protection problems and inconsistent QB play. The lack of a true vertical threat hindered the game plan as well. 

In order for the offense to continue its productive run, Austin must find schemes that allow Stanley to use the talent available at the second and third receiver, and tight end positions.

Now, much of what I have previously written could be rendered useless if freshman Raymond Cotton has an excellent spring. 

Cotton, a redshirt this past season, is as physically gifted as any QB to wear the Rebel uniform in a long, long time.  An exciting player on the hoof, Cotton also has a big arm that is not diminished on the move. At 6'4", 225 pounds, Cotton is a brawny dual-threat playmaker from Fort Meade, MD who participated in the Elite 11 Quarterback Camp in 2008.

As with Stanley, the question is development. 

Has Cotton—with little experience taking snaps under center—gathered enough this past year to be counted on if needed?  Cotton is young and it is irrational to expect him to be able to do all of the things an SEC quarterback has to have mastery of in order to win consistently. 

But what if Ole Miss needs him to?

Ideally, Cotton could run the Wild Rebel package if Stanley nails down the starting role.  Doing so would give that package a viable passing threat that—with the exception of the one play against LSU this year—it has lacked. 

As successful as Dexter McCluster was running the formation, opposing teams did not consistently have to worry about the safety being challenged by the slot receiver or the linebacker by a tight end.  Cotton’s versatility could change that while simultaneously strengthening the run option by moving would-be tacklers out of the box. 

Think Texas 2005 with Vince Young at the helm to see how dynamic a strong pass option can be in this formation.

With the early departure of Snead to the NFL, the graduation of Billy Tapp, and the decision of freshman Clayton Moore to transfer to JUCO, Stanley and Cotton are currently the only QBs listed on the roster. 

With this year’s recruiting class limited in its number of scholarships and other pressing needs, depth at the position could be a concern.

Ole Miss is expected to sign JUCO First Team All-American QB Randall Mackey from East Mississippi Community College. 

Mackey, who originally signed with Ole Miss in 2008 out of high school, amassed over 7,000 yards in total offense and 65 touchdowns in his two years with the Lions.  However, Mackey was not able to enroll in January, a delay that may force the standout into a redshirt next year.

Coach Houston Nutt has ardently avoided talk of the 2010 season being a rebuilding year.  The blatant fact is that it should not be. 

There is plenty of untested skill in the ranks, but if one of the players mentioned above is not able to step into the role with command and at least keep defenses honest, regardless of other questions at other positions, 2010 could quickly become all about 2011.