Rebels scrimmage for first time, Quarterback race too close to call

Petre Thomas | The Daily Mississippian
Sophomore Barry Brunetti rushes during Saturday's scrimmage.
Brunetti unofficially had 3 carries for 50 yards.

By David Henson

The 2011 Ole Miss football team played their first scrimmage of fall camp Saturday afternoon in front of approximately 2000 fans at Vaught-Hemmingway Stadium.

After the scrimmage, head coach Houston Nutt said he was impressed with his team’s performance.

“I thought we had a good day,” Nutt said. “It was so good to see Lockett out there, good to see him get some of the rust off. I thought that the offensive line did a really good job on a couple of series. I thought they executed really well.

“They came after it,” Nutt said of the freshmen. “I love their energy. I love what the freshmen bring to our team — they don’t act like freshmen.”

Senior defensive end Lockett finished with two tackles and an interception, which he returned to the 1-yard line before being brought down by sophomore quarterback Barry Brunetti.

Nutt also praised the play of his offense, particularly his quarterbacks, even with the team deciding to sit out running backs Brandon Bolden and Jeff Scott. Senior running back Enrique Davis took the majority of the first team snaps and took advantage, scoring two touchdowns on the ground.

All eyes on the quarterbacks

The Rebels went into their first scrimmage still undecided at quarterback.

Nutt was pleased with how the quarterbacks performed in their first scrimmage, but admitted that they had some work to do.

“Each one of the quarterbacks can do something a little different, which is good,” Nutt said.

Unofficially, Brunetti was 2-for-6 passing for 25 yards, three carries for 50 yards, and threw the one interception to Lockett. 

Junior Randall Mackey was 3-for-9 passing for 82 yards with 3 carries for 26 yards. 

Junior Zack Stoudt started slow, but finished his day 3-for-9 passing for 41 yards, including a touchdown toss to freshman wide receiver Donte Moncrief.

Brunetti said that the offense started well, but got a little tired as the scrimmage went on. Brunetti also complimented the play of the defensive backs. He had a long run early in the scrimmage, only to be brought down short of the endzone. Later in the scrimmage, freshman linebacker C.J. Johnson had a big hit on Brunetti, knocking his helmet off.

“Last time I got hit that hard was against South Panola by (2012 Ole Miss commitment) Issac Gross,” Brunetti said. “That’s a part of the game. You have to be able to take hits and get back up.”

Mackey said afterwards that a decision on the starting quarterback for the season opener against BYU on September 3 had not yet been made.

“Coach Lee still hasn’t decided that yet,” Mackey said of the starting job. “He is still telling us to work hard every day, so that’s what we’re going to do. We’re going to come back tomorrow, watch film and see our mistakes and correct it and keep on going.”