2005 Ole Miss Rebels

[Colonel_Reb]

I figured even though I am not an Ole Miss fan anymore, I should keep you guys up to date on the happenings in Oxford, as I cannot really avoid getting info on them. I received an update via e-mail the other day about the Grove Bowl spring game last Saturday. It praised Michael Spurlock's performance as being "impressive." I know there is a lot of speculation about the new head coach, but I doubt we will see much change from the pro-black policy that has been in place for 10 years now. Spurlock was the starting QB in the beginning of last years season, and performed miserably and more importantly was not a leader. The two whites he split time with later in the season were at least as good as him although they had less experience. In my opinion, only Robert Lane has the ability to lead the team, but of course they are pushing Spurlock for the starting job next fall. I'll keep you up to date on any future developments. Edited by: Colonel_Reb

 

[Colonel_Reb]

A little draft info on the Rebels who turned pro. 2 blacks were drafted, one in the first and the other in the second. One white was drafted, Rick Razzano, who will surely be used as a blocker for a black RB. The other 3 whites were signed as free agents by various teams. Unbelievably, one was all-american, the other the 2003 Lou Groza award winner and the third was the leading reciever for 2004 and the second best in reception in school history. That being Bill Flowers, who was picked up by Cleveland. The discrimination is so evident, there really can be no arguments as to the fix being in.

 

[Don Wassall]

Bill Flowers deserves a chance to be an NFL receiver just as much as many of the black receivers who were drafted who are smaller and who are the same speed or slower than Bill. Plus with his pedigree there should have been a demand for him but sadly it doesn't work that way in the NFL.

 

[Colonel_Reb]

So true Don. It's a shame that its that way. I hope he will be able to make some kind of impact and stay with a team. Every time I see Flowers I think of Stokley.

 

[kevin]

Are there any white people left in mississippi anymore, every one of the teams is all black. I think the aclu should step in and try to make their teams more diverse.

 

[Colonel_Reb]

I wish they would Kevin! We have very few left. The whitest public college team is My alma-mater, Delta State University, which is Division 2.

 

[bigman]

hey im as big a fan of southern culture with its kindness and virtue as anyone but complaining about the racial makeup of mississippi is not healthy and really undermines the legitimate arguements that can be forwarded about fairness on the playing field... am I being overly critial.. also all this stars and bars waving... coupled with the racial issues is not terribly helpful to the central arguements of the site.. please correct meif Im wrong.

 

[Colonel_Reb]

bigman, what stars and bars? As for complaining, I didn't, so maybe you should direct your comments to someone else. In my last post I stated a fact about the nature of football here, there is no comment in there disparaging the racial makeup of my home state. I referred to the number of whites on major football teams here. Mississippi is roughly 65% white and 35% black, just so you know, and I have no complaints about it at all. I think its pretty cool that my state is the most diverse in the nation, as far as black and white goes. What I don't like is having very unequal representation on our football teams, which is caused by the systematic discrimination against white athletes.

 

[Don Wassall]

hey im as big a fan of southern culture with its kindness and virtue as anyone but complaining about the racial makeup of mississippi is not healthy and really undermines the legitimate arguements that can be forwarded about fairness on the playing field... am I being overly critial.. also all this stars and bars waving... coupled with the racial issues is not terribly helpful to the central arguements of the site.. please correct meif Im wrong.

You're asbig a fan of Southern culture as anyone but dislike the Stars and Bars? Very curious. Pride in one's self, race, culture, region and nation is a healthy thing under most circumstances. What's wrong with regional pride? I'm not from the South but admire it in many ways. I like Col. Reb's avatar a lot!


And I have yet to see a post by Col. Reb that is remotely close to inappropriate for this site. The lack of development of white football players at the elite levelis an issue in Mississippi and every other state.


Apparently I am ignorant ofwhat the "central arguments" of Caste Football are, so please feel free to enlighten me.

 

[Colonel_Reb]

Nice post Don and thanks. If you don't understand the central arguments on here, I guess we're all screwed.

 

[bigman]

OK,,,maybe I was being overly critial.....

 

[Colonel_Reb]

Oh Great! Here's Ole Miss's new running backs coach. He coached McNabb and other black QB's you never heard of to greatness at Syracuse. Read all about it here:

http://olemisssports.collegesports.com/sports/m-footbl/spec- rel/052405aaa.html Edited by: Colonel_Reb

 

[Colonel_Reb]

More bad news for Ole Miss, it looks as though they will have only 2 white starters in 2005. RG Andrew Wicker will have to win back his starting job from a black after being injured in the spring. If he doesn't, Ole Miss will have their first all black line, what a shame. The only other starter listed now is DE Chris Bowers, who impressed all the coaches in the spring. Ole Miss has not had more than 1 white consistently on defense for several years now. I doubt this will get any better. They are now the blackest SEC team along with South Carolina.

 

[Gary]

bigman is pugnus-as far as Ole Miss football goes gone are the days of Archie Manning.

 

[Colonel_Reb]

Yeah Gary, and how. The Rebels have become the posterchildren for the Caste System since the 1998 season. Man, how I long for the days of Coach Billy Brewer. He played a lot of whites in the defensive secondary too. He treated everyone the same. When he was fired, the program went down. Eli Manning caused much of the fluke that was a 10 win season in 2003, and you can bet it won't happen again anytime soon. Not with blacks at every position.

 

[Gary]

Did Ole Miss have a White running back many years ago[1960]named Billy Ray Adams? Also didn't Gene Hickerson who played guard for the Browns go to Ole Miss? By the way Colonel Reb do you live in Utah now?

 

[Gary]

I looked up Billy Ray Adams-he was recognized by the SEC as a Living Legend in 2003. He was a part of the 1959 Ole Miss Team of the Decade[all White].There record from 1959-1961 was 29-3-1. Now tell me why Ole Miss can't put at least 18 White males on the field-this PC horse manure has got to stop!! Above is a picture of the great Billy Ray Adams!

 

[Colonel_Reb]

Good picture of him Gary. Yes, Hickerson was from Ole Miss too. One reason the Rebels have become so black over the last decade is that increasingly the coaches have refused to recruit players from private schools, which are mostly all white. They could at least still be 50/50 if they would do this, and if they would give the whites in public schools the same as they give the blacks.Edited by: Colonel_Reb

 

[Bronk]

I have always liked Ole Miss and I also miss Billy "Dog" Brewer. He had a DB that played for him back in the 1980s whose name was Santini, I think. That kid was terrific, until an injury felled him.

 

[Colonel_Reb]

I don't see Santini listed as an all-time lettermen, he must have been injured early on. Todd Sandroni was an awesome Free Safety from 87-90, but I don't remember him being injured severely. I know he had guys like Jeff Carter and Trea Southerland who both played CB/Safety between 1988 and 1992. They were the 2'nd and 3'rd winners of the Chucky Mullins Courage Award, and the only whites to win it so far. The award is supposed to go to an outstanding defensive player who exemplifies character. Anyway, I remember those guys, and a few others, who were really good. None of them ever got a look by the pro's though.

 

[Bronk]

Sandroni, that's the guy! He was really good. I vaugely recall hearing on ESPN that he'd been slowed by an injury. But I'm old and time plays tricks with my memory.

I mean, I'm old enough to remember Norris Weese, Greg Ainsworth, Paul Hofer and the 1977 upset of Notre Dame.

 

[Colonel_Reb]

Now that was a game! I went to my first Ole Miss game a few weeks after that one, but I wasn't born yet. It was the LSU game where we were up 21-0 at the half and lost 28-21. Typical Ole Miss.

 

[Bronk]

Reb, I was a junior in high school in 1977. Back in those days there was no ESPN on which you could watch highlights from games all over the country 20-30 times. I had to stay up until midnight the following Monday to see the ABC College Football recap show the highlights of that Ole Miss - Notre Dame game. Even then it ooked like a coaching game film to me.

 

[Colonel_Reb]

I'm glad I didn't live in those days because info was so hard to come by, but I wish I had grown up in a time where the Caste System wasn't so pervasive! That 1977 Ole Miss game helped Joe Montana get the starting job at QB, because he replaced the starting QB of that game the next week. Those old games in Jackson were something else! Just like the cheerleaders with Confederate flags, they have gone away probably forever. The last game played in Jackson was on September 7, 1996 against VMI.

 

[sport historian]

I can remember hearing Tennessee-Ole Miss on the radio in 1960. Jake Gibbs was the Ole Miss QB. My Vols lost 24-3. Tennessee lost6 straight to the Rebs from 1959-64, very frustrating. During those years Tennessee couldn't even compete, partly due to an antiquated single wing offense and poor defense schemes. Vaught's sprint-out passing game killed Tennessee.


Johnny Vaught's teams of the 1950s and early 60s had excellent team speed by recruiting a lot of high school fullbacks and turning them into linemen. In the early 60s, Rebel linemen like Stan Hindman (played with 49ers)were faster than Tenessee's backs.