Rebels prepare for Saturday’s scrimmage, Decision for Golson

By Bennett Hipp

Cain Madden | The Daily Mississippian
Senquez Golson, who was drafted by the Boston Red Sox, has a decision to make
by midnight Aug. 15: pro baseball now, or remain at Ole Miss.

Ole Miss had a relatively light practice Friday afternoon in preparation for Saturday night’s scrimmage, open to the public inside Vaught-Hemingway Stadium and scheduled for 6 p.m.

Ole Miss battles inconsistency

After being pleased with his team on Thursday, head coach Houston Nutt felt the Rebels struggled with consistency during Friday’s practice.

“We’ve got to have better focus,” Nutt said. “We had periods where things look good and then you lose focus. Get a little hot, get a little tired and you lose focus. You can’t do that, not in our league.”

The focus now shifts to the Rebels’ first scrimmage of fall practice Saturday night, as the newcomers who have impressed so far on the practice fields get their first chance to shine under the bright lights.

“Looking for some big things tomorrow,” Nutt said of Saturday’s scrimmage. “Finally, we put on every pad that we have, we buckle up both chinstraps and we go see who is physical on offense, physical on defense, who is going to tackle and who is going to make plays.”

On defense, Nutt mentioned freshman linebackers Keith Lewis, Serderius Bryant and C.J. Johnson, freshman defensive backs Senquez Golson, Chief Brown and Cody Brewitt, junior defensive back Aaron Garbutt and Senior cornerback Vincent Moss would be players to watch. 

On the other side of the ball, Nutt mentioned freshman wide receivers Tobias Singleton, Donte Moncrief, T.J. Worthy and Collins Moore and two of his tight ends - senior Layton Jones and sophomore Alex Williams.

“We’ll look at a lot of people” Nutt said. “We’ll have over 105 plays tomorrow.”

Decision time for Golson

Freshman defensive back Senquez Golson, a two-sport athlete from Pascagoula, was selected by the Boston Red Sox in the eighth round of the 2011 Major League Baseball draft. The deadline is only a few days away — teams have until midnight on Aug. 15 to sign draft picks.

“It's a big decision,” Golson said. “I think the decision is pretty much made right now, just have to wait and see. I'm just playing it by ear right now.”

The Red Sox have increased their offer to Golson and have been in constant contact with him as the deadline approaches.

“They've been calling me pretty much every day,” Nutt said of the Red Sox. “There’s still an offer on the table. It’s a pretty good amount. They’ve upped it a good bit.”

Golson mentioned a couple of things that would be taken into account when he makes his decision.

“Just what is best for me,” Golson said of his decision. “My parents play a big role in it, especially my mother. That's the main thing. Would I rather stay here for three years and try to make something of myself or would I rather sign now and take care of my family.”