Ad Disclosure
Freeze talks famed ’13 recruiting class on ‘wired’ segment of College Gameday
By Ethan Levine
Published:
Ole Miss head coach Hugh Freeze was miced-up at a Rebels’ practice earlier this week, and ESPN played the highlights Saturday morning in the opening hour of College Gameday from the University of Oregon.
The segment also included bits of an interview done with Freeze prior to today’s SEC showdown with Vanderbilt, during which he discussed Ole Miss’ famed 2013 recruiting class, which made a tremendous impact on last week’s opener against Boise State.
Freeze said the class “certainly gave us credibility nationwide,” but not before suffering some grueling growing pains during the class’ collective freshman season last year.
“That class played too many snaps last year, but they had to,” Freeze said. His 2013 squad finished the year 8-5 with a victory in the Music City Bowl.
RELATED: Evaluating the Ole Miss sophomores in the season opener
The season was filled with highs and lows. The highs: an upset of then-No. 6 LSU and the bowl victory over Georgia Tech. The lows: a last-second home loss to then-No. 9 Texas A&M and an overtime loss in the annual Egg Bowl against Mississippi State.
According to Freeze, both the peaks and the valleys should pay dividends in 2014.
“The mental side of the grind of the season, I didn’t prepare them for that,” Freeze said, adding his team will be mentally tougher this season.
The “super sophomores” have already shown tremendous improvements from last season. In the opener against Boise, receiver Laquon Treadwell and tight end Evan Engram combined to catch 11 passes for 156 yards and a touchdown. Defensive lineman Robert Nkemdiche and defensive back Tony Conner combined to make nine tackles, including a few punishing hits.
Left tackle Laremy Tunsil kept quarterback Bo Wallace’s blindside clean all night. Wide receiver Quincy Adeboyejo caught a 31-yard touchdown, and tailback Mark Dodson ran for a 19-yard touchdown in the fourth quarter.
The Rebels will return to the field this afternoon against the Commodores. Kickoff is slated for 3:30 PM ET on ESPN.
A former newspaper reporter who has roamed the southeastern United States for years covering football and eating way too many barbecue ribs, if there is such a thing.
