Ole Miss Inks Four Junior College Standouts

  

                                                         Ole Miss head coach Hugh Freeze

Article posted by Mississippi Gazette   Photo by Joshua McCoy
 
OXFORD, Miss. – Ole Miss has received national letters of intent from four of the nation’s top junior college prospects, head coach Hugh Freeze announced Wednesday.

Mississippi Gulf Coast cornerback Tony Bridges, Northwest Mississippi linebacker Terry Caldwell, East Mississippi defensive tackle D.J. Jones and East Mississippi quarterback Chad Kelly will join the Rebels this spring.

“I'm thrilled with the results of today,” Freeze said. “The young men and the families that decided to join our program fit with us, number one, and they fit needs that we have to make sure that our depth is what it needs to be to compete in this conference.

“We needed to create competition and depth at quarterback, and we were able to do that with Chad Kelly. With the loss of Senquez (Golson), we get a player like Tony Bridges, who can step in right there. There at defensive line, we lose Bryon Bennett and Lavon Hooks, and we sign a player of the quality of D.J. Jones. We lose three linebackers, so we certainly needed to sign a player there, and we did with Terry Caldwell.”

Bridges will join the Rebels from Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College, where he earned NJCAA first team All-America honors. The 6-foot-2, 175-pound cornerback is rated a four-star prospect by all the major recruiting services and listed as the top junior college cornerback by ESPN.com, Rivals.com and Scout.com.

Caldwell is a 6-foot-2, 220-pound linebacker who played last season at Northwest Mississippi Community College, having spent the previous two seasons at Charlotte, where he was a member of the school’s first-ever recruiting class. Caldwell led the MACJC and ranked fourth nationally with 122 tackles as a sophomore.

Jones is a 6-foot-2, 315-pound defensive lineman who spent the last two seasons at East Mississippi Community College and helped Buddy Stephens’ Lions to a combined 24-0 record and two NJCAA national championships. Jones is rated a four-star prospect and listed as the top junior college defensive tackle by all the major recruiting services.

Kelly earned NJCAA first team All-America honors, as he helped East Mississippi Community College to a 12-0 record and the national championship this year. Regarded as the top junior college quarterback, the 6-foot-3, 220-pound Kelly completed 66.9 percent of his passes and threw for 3,906 yards with 47 touchdowns and eight interceptions. Kelly, who started his career at Clemson, is also the nephew of Hall of Famer Jim Kelly.


Tony Bridges

CB | 6-2 | 175 | Hattiesburg, Miss. | Hattiesburg/Mississippi Gulf Coast CC

JUNIOR COLLEGE: Rated a four-star prospect by all the major recruiting services … Listed as the No. 4 junior college prospect by Rivals.com, No. 6 by Scout.com, No. 8 by ESPN.com and No. 11 by 247Sports.com … Listed as the top junior college cornerback by ESPN.com, Rivals.com and Scout.com and No. 2 by 247Sports.com … Helped Mississippi Gulf Coast to back-to-back 8-2 seasons and MACJC semifinal appearances … Earned NJCAA first team All-America honors … Earned MACJC Most Valuable Defensive Back, All-Region and All-State honors … As a sophomore, in nine games, he totaled 33 tackles, three interceptions, returning one for a touchdown, and nine pass breakups … He also returned 16 punts for 234 yards, a 14.6-yard average, including a 55-yard return for a touchdown … As a freshman, in nine games, he totaled 28 tackles with a forced fumble and two pass breakups … He also returned nine kicks for 267 yards, a 29.7-yard average, and 17 punts for 132 yards … Coached in junior college by Chad Huff … HIGH SCHOOL: Rated a three-star prospect and rated the No. 100 cornerback by Scout.com … As a senior, he helped Hattiesburg to a 9-5 record, intercepting two passes, returning one for a 99-yard touchdown, in a first-round win over Gulfport … Earned first team All-State honors … Participated in the Alabama-Mississippi All-Star Game … A four-sport athlete, he was named Best Offensive Player in the MAC All-Star Basketball Game … Coached in high school by Danny Nowell.

Terry Caldwell

LB | 6-2 | 220 | Wilmington, N.C. | John T. Hoggard/Charlotte/Northwest Mississippi CC

JUNIOR COLLGE: Rated a three-star prospect by ESPN.com, Rivals.com and Scout.com … Listed as the No. 2 junior college inside linebacker by ESPN.com … Listed as the No. 80 JUCO prospect by Scout.com … Helped Northwest Mississippi to the MACJC semifinals … Earned second team All-MACJC honors … Earned MACJC Defensive Player of the Week Honors (Nov. 7) … Led the MACJC and ranked fourth nationally with 122 tackles, to go along with 12.5 tackles for loss, 3.0 sacks, five breakups, five quarterback hurries, two fumble recoveries and a forced fumble ... Totaled a career-high 19 tackles in the MACJC Semifinals vs Copiah-Lincoln … Coached in junior college by Jack Wright … CHARLOTTE (2013): Played in 10 of 11 games, making seven starts ... Started each of the first five games ... Led 49ers in back-to-back games with eight tackles vs. Chowan, Sept. 7 and seven tackles vs. NC Central, Sept. 14 ... Finished season fifth on team with 55 tackles (34 solo) ... Shared team lead with 9.5 tackles for loss ... His 2.0 sacks were tied for second on team … Named third team FCS Independent All-Conference by CollegeSportsMadness.com … CHARLOTTE (2012): Signed with the 49ers on Feb. 1, 2012 as a member of the 49ers’ first-ever recruiting class … Practiced throughout year as the team prepared for the 2013 inaugural season … Coached at Charlotte by Brad Lambert … HIGH SCHOOL: Helped lead Hoggard to a 7-3 record as the All-Area Defensive Player of the Year … Totaled 101 tackles as a senior, 13 of which went for loss … Also forced three fumbles and had two interceptions, returning one for a touchdown … Named to All-Conference, All-Area and All-State teams … Coached in high school by Scott Braswell.

D.J. Jones

DL | 6-2 | 315 | Pelzer, S.C. | Wren/East Mississippi CC

JUNIOR COLLEGE: Rated a four-star prospect by all the major recruiting services … Listed as the No. 3 junior college prospect by 247Sports.com and ESPN.com, No. 6 by Rivals.com and No. 12 by Scout.com … Listed as the top junior college defensive tackle by all the major recruiting services … As a two-year starting nose guard, helped East Mississippi to a combined 24-0 record and two NJCAA national championships … As a sophomore, in 12 games, he totaled 29 tackles, 4.0 sacks, 8.5 tackles for loss and two forced fumbles … As a sophomore, he earned MACJC All-Region and All-State honors … As a freshman, in 12 games, he totaled 49 tackles, 5.0 tackles for loss, 8.0 sacks and a forced fumble … As a freshman, he earned MACJC All-State/North Division first team honors … Coached in junior college by Buddy Stephens … HIGH SCHOOL: Played high school football at Wren High in Piedmont, S.C. and was a Shrine Bowl of the Carolinas participant during his senior season … Coached in high school by Jeff Tate.

Chad Kelly

QB | 6-3 | 220 | Buffalo, N.Y. | St Joseph’s Collegiate Institute/Clemson/East Mississippi CC

JUNIOR COLLEGE: Rated a four-star prospect by ESPN.com and Scout.com … Listed as the No. 10 junior college prospect by Scout.com, No. 29 ESPN.com and No. 57 by 247Sports.com … Listed as the top junior college quarterback by Scout.com and the top dual threat quarterback by 247Sports.com, ESPN.com and Rivals.com … Helped East Mississippi to a 12-0 record and the NJCAA national championship … In 12 games for East Mississippi, he completed 66.9 percent of his passes and threw for 3,906 yards with 47 touchdowns and eight interceptions … Rushed for 446 yards and four touchdowns … His 47 touchdowns tied the nation’s lead and his 3,906 yards ranked second in the nation … Earned NJCAA first team All-America honors … Earned MACJC Most Valuable Back, All-Region and All-State honors … Earned East Mississippi Most Valuable Offensive Player and Mississippi Bowl Committee Player of the Year honors … Completed 40-of-53 passes for 434 yards and five touchdowns and rushed for a team-leading 33 yards in the NJCAA national title game … Coached in junior college by Buddy Stephens … CLEMSON (2013): Was 10-of-17 passing for 58 yards in 55 snaps over five games ... Completed 58.8 percent of his passes ... Had 117 rushing yards and one touchdown on only 16 carries ... Was 2-of-6 passing for 11 yards and added six yards on two carries in his first career game against S.C. State on Sept. 7 ... Was 1-of-1 passing for six yards along with three yards on two carries against Wake Forest on Sept. 28 ... was 1-1 passing for six yards along with 28 yards on two carries at Syracuse on Oct. 5 ... Was 5-of-7 passing for 27 yards along with 56 yards and a touchdown on seven carries at Virginia on Nov. 2 ... Was 1-of-2 passing for eight yards along with 24 yards on three carries against Georgia Tech on Nov. 14 ... Suffered a torn ACL in the Spring Game after he was 6-of-7 passing for 43 yards and a touchdown … CLEMSON (2012): Did not see action and was redshirted … Coached at Clemson by Dabo Swinney … HIGH SCHOOL: Listed as the No. 84 overall prospect and No. 4 quarterback in the nation as well as No. 1 prospect in New York by ESPN.com … Listed as the No. 4 dual-threat QB in the nation and No. 2 prospect in New York by Rivals.com ... Listed as the No. 101 overall prospect and No. 4 dual-threat QB by 247Sports.com ... SuperPrep All-American ... Member of the Elite 11 ... Participant in the Under Armour All-American Game ... Passed for 3,050 yards and 27 touchdowns while rushing for 991 yards and 14 touchdowns as a senior ... Passed for 2,159 yards and 24 touchdowns and rushed for 1,059 yards and 15 touchdowns as a junior ... Led his team to the state championship game as a junior and senior, winning the state title as a junior ... Four-time National Punt, Pass, & Kick winner ... Coached in high school by Dennis Gilbert… Nephew of Hall of Famer Jim Kelly.

Rebels Rebound with Win over South Alabama

Article posted by Mississippi Gazette
OXFORD, Miss. – The Ole Miss women’s basketball team rebounded from back-to-back losses with a 88-48 win over South Alabama on Sunday afternoon at Tad Smith Coliseum. Playing in her first game since Nov. 16, sophomore forward Bretta Hart scored a career-high 14 points and was joined by four teammates in double figures.

“That’s more like it,” head coach Matt Insell said. “That’s what I have been preaching to them over and over. The more we can move the basketball and the more times the ball can change from one side of the floor to the other, we’re going to be really good offensively, and we have a good basketball team offensively.

“If we can sit down in the halfcourt and not just rely on traps and all this other stuff to create turnovers, and we just start creating them because we’re giving good defensive discipline and staying a stance, great things will happen.”
The Rebels (7-3) shot a season-best 53.2 percent from the field, including a season-best 60.0 percent in the second half, as five players scored in double figures for the first time this season.

Sophomore guard Erika Sisk (Oxford, Miss.) also finished with 14 points, followed followed by senior forward Tia Faleru (Ozark, Ala.) with 12, senior forward Danielle McCray (West Palm Beach, Fla.) with 11 and sophomore guard Shequila Joseph (London, England) with 10.

“I asked this basketball team to do something on Wednesday that’s kind of unheard of,” said Insell, referring to a new motion offense Ole Miss installed in practice Wednesday. “We took our whole playbook of plays that we had been running and threw them in the trash can. I asked them to change what we’re doing offensively.”

Defensively, Ole Miss held South Alabama (3-4) to 29.5 percent shooting, including 17.4 percent shooting in the second half, where the Rebels allowed just four made field goals and 14 points. Ole Miss also forced 31 turnovers, including 20 steals, turning them into 42 points off turnovers.

“We forced 31 turnovers, and we may have trapped two times the whole game,” Insell said. “That’s pretty good defense. That was just us having great ball pressure, staying in a stance, not getting beat baseline and having great denials. That’s what we pride ourselves on.

The first half was a game of runs, as South Alabama turned a 5-2 deficit into a 12-5 lead after a 10-0 run. Ole Miss answered with a 14-5 run to retake a 19-17 lead, a lead the Rebels would not relinquish the rest of the game. South Alabama got to within seven, down 39-32, but that was as close as they would get on the way, as Ole Miss took a 42-34 lead into halftime.

Ole Miss opened the second half on a 26-4 run, including an 14-0 run at one point, holding South Alabama without a field goal for the first 8:30 of the second half. The Rebels held the Jaguars to just 14 points in the second half, holding them scoreless for stretches of 3:42 and 5:17.

“In the second half, the onslaught happened because we guarded, and offensively, we slowed down and made the right plays,” Insell said. “I’m really happy with them. We’ll get back to work tomorrow. We have a long way to go and we have to continue to improve.”

Ole Miss continues their six-game home stand, hosting Southern Miss on Thursday as part of a doubleheader with the Ole Miss men’s team. The Rebels and Golden Eagles will tip off at 4 p.m. at the Tad Smith Coliseum.

“We have three games left before we start SEC play,” Insell said. “We talked about the team about a four-game season. We’re 1-0 on the four-game season. We have a tough matchup Thursday night against a good Southern Miss team to try to get to 2-0. We have to work really hard this week to get ourselves prepared for that game because our goal is to have double-digit wins going into SEC play, and that opportunity is still in front of us, and we’re working hard every day to get there.”

For ticket information, go to OleMissTix.com or call the Ole Miss Ticket Office at 1-888-REB-TKTS (732-8587).

Ole Miss Invests in Coaching Staff, to Announce Stadium Expansion Plans

Article posted by Mississippi Gazette Photo by Joshua McCoy

OXFORD, Miss. - After becoming the first Rebel coach to open his tenure with three straight bowl appearances, Ole Miss has finalized salary increases for head coach Hugh Freeze and his staff, as announced Friday by Athletics Director Ross Bjork. 

Ole Miss is also investing in its football program with an expansion of Vaught-Hemingway Stadium as part of the Forward Together campaign. Those plans, including visuals and timelines, will be unveiled Monday at 10 a.m. CT in a public announcement at the Burns Team Room in the Manning Center. A press conference for the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl will follow. 

"This continued investment in Ole Miss Football, Hugh Freeze and our football staff shows that we want to excel at the highest level in the SEC and college football," Bjork said. "I personally look forward to working with Hugh Freeze as we continue to build Ole Miss each and every day. We are grateful that his leadership of our program will be in place for the long term." 

"Coach Freeze has done an extraordinary job on the football field, but just as important is his role as mentor and leader for our student-athletes and role model for all of us," said Ole Miss Chancellor Dan Jones. "I am grateful to Athletic Director Ross Bjork for his leadership in this important relationship and to Coach Freeze for his long-term commitment to Ole Miss." 

After guiding the Rebels to a 9-3 regular season and a "New Year's Six" bowl, Freeze's contract has been extended by one year to the maximum four years allowed by the state of Mississippi, and his base salary will rise from $3.15 million to $4.3 million. His base salary will increase by $100,000 per year or 50 percent of the annual bonuses earned in the previous season, whichever is greater. 

Freeze' base salary increases to $5 million if the Rebels advance to the SEC Championship game. Other incentives are based on APR, playoff rankings, postseason participation and coaching honors. 

In addition, the salary pool for the Ole Miss football staff will increase by at least 25 percent. 

"I'm grateful to call Oxford my home, and I'm excited to continue our journey for championships at Ole Miss," Freeze said. "From day one, I have admired and appreciated the leadership and support that Dr. Jones, Ross and our administration provide this program. Our staff has done a tremendous job, and I'm particularly excited about their salary increases." 

"Coach Freeze and his family are a perfect fit for Ole Miss and our football program, and we are excited he will continue to be our head football coach for a long time," Bjork said. "In three short years, his value-added leadership style has brought newfound energy to our entire university, because he cares about the young men in our program beyond the football field. He also gives back to the greater Ole Miss community in so many ways, and he is a teacher of life lessons each and every day." 

The salary commitments and stadium expansion come on the heels of an $11.25 million renovation and expansion of the Manning Center. Projects included the Grill at 1810 (a full-service dining facility), the Williams-Reed Football Foyer, Burns team meeting room, VanDevender Family locker room, weight room, player lounge and visuals throughout the complex. 

Marquis Haynes Named SEC All-Freshman

Marquis Haynes (photo by Joshua McCoy)

Article posted by Mississippi Gazette
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – Ole Miss defensive end Marquis Haynes has been named to the Southeastern Conference All-Freshman team, the league office announced Thursday. 

A native of Jacksonville, Florida, Haynes set an Ole Miss freshman record with 7.5 sacks, which leads the team this year. His sack total is tied for eighth among all SEC players and tied for fourth among all freshmen in the nation. He also leads the team with eight quarterback hurries and three forced fumbles, while racking up 29 total tackles, 8.5 for loss, two pass breakups and a fumble recovery. 

Haynes was tabbed the SEC Defensive Lineman of the Week after the Texas A&M win (2 sacks) and SEC Freshman of the Week after the Tennessee win (2.5 sacks, forced and recovered a fumble). 

Rebels Drop Home Battle to Horned Frogs

Article posted by Mississippi Gazette

OXFORD, Miss. - Junior guard Stefan Moody led Ole Miss with 12 points, as the Rebels fell to TCU 66-54 in the SEC/Big 12 Challenge on Thursday.

TCU (8-0) held Ole Miss (5-2) to a season-low 29.8 percent from the field, including a 7:11 scoring drought in the second half, during which the Horned Frogs turned a five-point lead into a decisive 18-point lead.

“We didn’t have any rhythm,” head coach Andy Kennedy said. “We’re searching for options offensively. Defensively, we were locked in early. It’s hard to maintain a certain intensity on the defensive side when you’re so inefficient offensively, and it just spreads throughout.”

Moody was the lone Rebel in double figures, his team-leading fifth game in double figures this season, scoring seven of his 12 points in the second half. Sophomore forward Sebastian Saiz was second on the team with nine points, followed by senior guard Jarvis Summers with eight. Senior forward M.J. Rhett led the Rebels with seven rebounds.

In a back-and-forth first half that featured three ties and 10 lead changes, TCU took a 27-24 lead into the locker room. It was a defensive battle for much of the half, as the teams combined to go 16-of-53 from the field.

TCU did its damage from 3-point range, where they went 4-of-8, while Ole Miss remained close by going 8-of-10 from the free-throw line, despite going 7-of-28 from the field and 0-of-6 from 3-point range.

Ole Miss scored the first points of the second half, drawing to within one, before TCU answered with a 6-0 run to stretch the lead to seven. The Rebels battled back to within five, 42-37, with 13:06 left, before the Horned Frogs went on a 13-0 run and took their lead out to 55-37 with 5:55 left.

“It’s a two or three-possession game, and then they get second, third and fourth-chance opportunities and they ended up getting separation,” Kennedy said. “With our inability to score consistently, we were running uphill all night.”

TCU led wire-to-wire in the second half, leading by as many as 19, behind 43.3 percent shooting and a 27-12 rebounding advantage in the half, including 11-3 on the offensive glass.

“I’m trying to play a bunch of guys a bunch of minutes because I’m just trying to find some consistency, somebody that wants to play and somebody wants to separate themselves and earn minutes,” Kennedy said. "We’re trying everything we can, especially on our frontline to get somebody to snatch a hard rebound that maybe would allow us get out in the open floor and try make a play and get a little momentum, and we just couldn’t do that.”

Ole Miss returns to action, traveling to Oregon on Sunday for their second true road game of the season. Tip-off between the Rebels and the Ducks is set for 3 p.m. on Fox Sports 1.

“It’s a hard trip, across the country against a quality Pac-12 opponent,” Kennedy said. “After we built some momentum, winning five in a row and playing well down in Florida, I’m not pushing the right buttons and I have to figure out a way to get this team to play the way I saw them play for two games against Creighton and Cincinnati.”