With a new coach, Spurlock gets second chance at Ole Miss

By

Posted 5:29PM on Tuesday, August 16, 2005

OXFORD, Miss. (AP) Micheal Spurlock couldn't replace the great Eli Manning as Mississippi's quarterback. Trying to regain the starting job he once lost, Spurlock wants better results as Ethan Flatt's probable replacement. Yanked from the Rebels' lineup last season after just two starts, Spurlock has re-ascended to the top of the depth chart under new coach Ed Orgeron. In a new offense and with a broadened perspective, the senior from Indianola is searching for redemption. ``You dream for so long how things are going to be, and you plan them out, 'This is how they're going to go.' And all of a sudden, things change,'' Spurlock said of his miserable 2004 season. ``But nothing goes as planned, so I just take every day like it's (my) last,'' he said. ``Know that everything you gave today, if it was your last day, you can say you gave your all.'' Spurlock was anointed by David Cutcliffe as Manning's successor before last season. But the Rebels struggled to find consistency with Spurlock under center, and the offense which was so prolific under Manning sputtered. The coup de grace: Midway through just his second career start, Spurlock was benched. Flatt was inserted as the starter the following week, and Spurlock played sparingly as a backup the rest of the way. ``It was a dream turned into a nightmare,'' Spurlock said. But hope was coming. After the Rebels finished 4-7, Cutcliffe was fired and Orgeron was brought in to revitalize the program. He installed a fast-paced offense full of rollouts and other wrinkles, and promised everyone a clean slate. Spurlock took advantage of the opportunity, embracing the new scheme and operating it with a dazzling efficiency to surge ahead of Flatt and sophomore Robert Lane in the race for the job. ``He has really become an electric football player,'' Orgeron said. ``He has shown that he has the leadership qualities that we are looking for in our offense.'' The offense seems to emphasize Spurlock's best attribute his escapability while also placing a premium on throwing short, quick passes accurately while on the run. ``It's about four offenses put in to make one,'' he said. Spurlock said he had a choice, which turned out to not be much of a choice at all: master the new offense, or waste another year on the bench. ``I don't know if it's the best fit for me, but it's the only fit for me,'' Spurlock said. ``I don't get to do this again. I'm just trying to fit in where I fit in, and make the best of it.'' One thing's for certain: he doesn't waste any more time analyzing what went wrong last season. ``The only time I think about last year is when I'm tired and I feel like I'm ready to give up,'' Spurlock said. ``It just motivates me to push on. We're moving on from it.'' (Copyright 2005 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)