Page 137 - South Mississippi Living - August, 2015

NEW ORLEANS SAINTS
Losing virtually every close game last year, the Saints were a huge
bust coming off an 11-5 campaign. Quarterback Drew Brees and his high- powered offense were more efficient than explosive, but things were much worse on the other side of the ball
as the Saints plummeted from third overall in NFL defense in 2013 to 31st in 2014.
Fulfilling his promise to revamp his team, Payton traded tight end Jimmy Graham and speedy wide receiver Kenny Stills, and released popular running back Pierre Thomas. He also cut middle linebacker and defensive captain Curtis Lofton. Payton chose to keep defensive coordinator Rob Ryan, but only after bringing in former Los Angeles Raiders head coach Dennis Allen to help him.
OLE MISS REBELS
The Rebels won their first seven games last year and were ranked
No. 3 in the country before dropping four of their last six games, including a humbling 42-3 loss to TCU in the Peach Bowl. Still, Ole Miss came out of 2014 with an impressive 31-17 victory over rival Mississippi State, which means Freeze is more popular than ever in Oxford.
Returning many starters and
once again boasting another strong recruiting class, the Rebels are expected to challenge in the SEC
West this year. Replacing mercurial quarterback Bo Wallace with a dependable starter is foremost among Freeze’s challenges. The answer could be Chad Kelly, the troubled nephew of NFL great Jim Kelly. A year ago, Chad Kelly led East Mississippi to
the National Community College Championship, only to have his Ole Miss scholarship jeopardized after a late night fight in a bar.
MISSISSIPPI STATE BULLDOGS
Dan Mullen was called a miracle man after his team bolted to a 9-0 start last year, capturing the nation’s imagination and the No.1 ranking
for five straight weeks. Losing to Ole Miss in the regular season finale and to Georgia Tech in the Orange Bowl retuned the Starkville faithful to earth rather abruptly. But Mullen fashioned another strong recruiting season,
and with the return of Prescott, State figures to be a force again this year.
SOUTHERN MISSISSIPPI GOLDEN EAGLES
Junior Nicky Mullins has been the team’s heart and soul for two seasons, but he might not even be the No.1 quarterback. TCU transfer Tyler Matthews is pushing Mullins hard for the starting job.
Defensively, USM improved a little last year, but graduated its best three players.
An uptick from last year’s 3-9 record is possible considering the lack of overall strength in USM’s schedule, but an opener against Mississippi State and a road trip to Nebraska could be detrimental to those hopes.
MGCCC BULLDOGS
Chad Huff assumed head coaching duties last year after serving the school as offensive coordinator for
10 seasons. His first year was an impressive one with an 8-2 record. But the Bulldogs lost a lot of talent and will have to quickly develop new players if 2015 is going to be another banner year in Perkinston.
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