BeeDee
08-15-2005, 08:59 AM
I'm afraid that it's gonna be a loooong season if Spurlock is the best we've got and he performs like this when it counts. :o
Spurlock continues to stand out at QB
By Michael Wallace
Clarion Ledger (http://www.clarionledger.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050814/SPORTS030103/508140385/1109)
OXFORD — When Micheal Spurlock danced around Kelvin Robinson at the goal line and slipped into the end zone Saturday, a group of Ole Miss fans high up in Vaught-Hemingway Stadium jumped to their feet and shook their heads in disbelief.
Stunned, and a bit embarrassed after his feet went in one direction and his body another as Spurlock zipped by, Robinson pulled himself back together, patted Spurlock on the helmet and offered the quarterback some piercing advice.
"It was a great move, man," Robinson told Spurlock. "Just make sure that you do it in the games."
Spurlock provided plenty of highlight material and reason for hope in yet another scrimmage setting, running and throwing for a combined 217 yards and three touchdowns.
And with each step he took on the turf Saturday afternoon, the fifth-year senior seemingly distanced himself from the pack in the race for the Rebels' starting job this fall.
Although he completed just 13 of 30 passes, Spurlock took the majority of the snaps and then took over the final stages of the three-hour scrimmage with his nifty, shifty feet.
Sophomore Robert Lane completed 8 of 11 for 85 yards and a touchdown while junior Ethan Flatt was 7-of-9 passing for 60 yards. Spurlock and Lane entered August camp a week ago as the front-runners for the job with Flatt factored in as a long shot to win the job. First-year coach Ed Orgeron suggested earlier this week that Spurlock was beginning to pull away.
But after watching his quarterbacks get sacked six times and seeing the three fumbles, Orgeron was far less than pleased with the overall performance of his offense Saturday.
"I was very disappointed," Orgeron said. "It wasn't at all what we've been seeing in practice every day."
A 45-yard pass play from Spurlock to Mario Hill along with the quarterback's final touchdown scramble were the high points of an otherwise inconsistent performance on both sides of the football, Orgeron said.
But scrimmage stardom is nothing new for Spurlock, who has produced practice gems since last spring when he became Eli Manning's successor. Then things fell apart when the games counted.
A solid spring and summer did not translate into a spectacular fall. Spurlock lost his job after the team's 0-2 start last season during a 4-7 campaign in which neither he, Lane or Flatt established themselves as a clear-cut starter.
So Robinson's playful verbal jab in the end zone Saturday simply reminded Spurlock of what many Ole Miss fans and team members have on their minds these days.
"In this offense, there's big-play capability every time you get the ball," Spurlock said. "An ooh or an ah can come out of every time you get the ball. We're going to try to embarrass defenses as much as we can. But the touchdowns we scored today won't matter. It doesn't count until September fifth."
That's when the Rebels open the season at Memphis, a regional rival that has won two straight in what has become a heated series.
Offensive coordinator Noel Mazzone said Spurlock's scrambling ability brings even more of an added dimension to a scheme that is designed to create mismatches and attack from a multitude of angles and formations.
Spurlock said he is more comfortable in Mazzone's offense than he was last season under former coach David Cutcliffe's staff.
"We did some good things and did some bad things," Mazzone said. "But you saw it down there on the goal line. When everybody's covered, you better watch out for that guy. Is that exactly the way I drew it up? Yeah, right."
Spurlock continues to stand out at QB
By Michael Wallace
Clarion Ledger (http://www.clarionledger.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050814/SPORTS030103/508140385/1109)
OXFORD — When Micheal Spurlock danced around Kelvin Robinson at the goal line and slipped into the end zone Saturday, a group of Ole Miss fans high up in Vaught-Hemingway Stadium jumped to their feet and shook their heads in disbelief.
Stunned, and a bit embarrassed after his feet went in one direction and his body another as Spurlock zipped by, Robinson pulled himself back together, patted Spurlock on the helmet and offered the quarterback some piercing advice.
"It was a great move, man," Robinson told Spurlock. "Just make sure that you do it in the games."
Spurlock provided plenty of highlight material and reason for hope in yet another scrimmage setting, running and throwing for a combined 217 yards and three touchdowns.
And with each step he took on the turf Saturday afternoon, the fifth-year senior seemingly distanced himself from the pack in the race for the Rebels' starting job this fall.
Although he completed just 13 of 30 passes, Spurlock took the majority of the snaps and then took over the final stages of the three-hour scrimmage with his nifty, shifty feet.
Sophomore Robert Lane completed 8 of 11 for 85 yards and a touchdown while junior Ethan Flatt was 7-of-9 passing for 60 yards. Spurlock and Lane entered August camp a week ago as the front-runners for the job with Flatt factored in as a long shot to win the job. First-year coach Ed Orgeron suggested earlier this week that Spurlock was beginning to pull away.
But after watching his quarterbacks get sacked six times and seeing the three fumbles, Orgeron was far less than pleased with the overall performance of his offense Saturday.
"I was very disappointed," Orgeron said. "It wasn't at all what we've been seeing in practice every day."
A 45-yard pass play from Spurlock to Mario Hill along with the quarterback's final touchdown scramble were the high points of an otherwise inconsistent performance on both sides of the football, Orgeron said.
But scrimmage stardom is nothing new for Spurlock, who has produced practice gems since last spring when he became Eli Manning's successor. Then things fell apart when the games counted.
A solid spring and summer did not translate into a spectacular fall. Spurlock lost his job after the team's 0-2 start last season during a 4-7 campaign in which neither he, Lane or Flatt established themselves as a clear-cut starter.
So Robinson's playful verbal jab in the end zone Saturday simply reminded Spurlock of what many Ole Miss fans and team members have on their minds these days.
"In this offense, there's big-play capability every time you get the ball," Spurlock said. "An ooh or an ah can come out of every time you get the ball. We're going to try to embarrass defenses as much as we can. But the touchdowns we scored today won't matter. It doesn't count until September fifth."
That's when the Rebels open the season at Memphis, a regional rival that has won two straight in what has become a heated series.
Offensive coordinator Noel Mazzone said Spurlock's scrambling ability brings even more of an added dimension to a scheme that is designed to create mismatches and attack from a multitude of angles and formations.
Spurlock said he is more comfortable in Mazzone's offense than he was last season under former coach David Cutcliffe's staff.
"We did some good things and did some bad things," Mazzone said. "But you saw it down there on the goal line. When everybody's covered, you better watch out for that guy. Is that exactly the way I drew it up? Yeah, right."