Orgeron hopes to build foundation for success at Ole Miss

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Posted 5:46PM on Tuesday, August 16, 2005

OXFORD, Miss. (AP) Ed Orgeron helped turn one once-proud program into a national powerhouse. Now, he's in charge of his own rebuilding project. The career assistant who was credited for helping change Southern California from chumps to national champs is a head coach for the first time at Mississippi. ``I remember the process it took for (USC) to get where we did,'' Orgeron said. ``I am going back in that first-year mode and remembering the things that had to happen for us to have success. I am very patient, because I understand the things that have to happen for us to build a championship program.'' Orgeron has a knack for guiding his teams into January he has coached in 11 New Year's Day-or-later bowls and five national championship games and he is taking over an Ole Miss program for which winning seasons and berths in minor bowls have become the norm. The Rebels won at least seven games each season from 1996-2003 and appeared in six bowls. In Eli Manning's senior season in 2003, they captured a share of the Southeastern Conference West Division and won the Cotton Bowl. But they struggled in the first post-Manning season, stumbling to finish 4-7 after failing to establish any offensive consistency. Coach David Cutcliffe was fired after refusing to make changes to his staff, and Orgeron was brought in to change the direction and attitude of the program. If the feel at practice is an indication, it worked. Orgeron who won national titles as an assistant at Miami under Dennis Erickson in 1989 and 1991 and at USC under Pete Carroll the past two seasons is trying to give the Rebels' attitudes a similar edge. ``Coach Carroll taught me a lot about how to do things,'' Orgeron said. ``He kept his team. He never lost his team. I don't plan to lose mine either.'' Orgeron has turned up the tempo at practice and installed a new offense which is heavy on wrinkles, movement and rollouts, and is designed to cut the field in half and get the ball into the hands of the Rebels' playmakers. ``It's about four offenses put in to make one,'' said quarterback Micheal Spurlock, who is close to reclaiming the starting job after he was benched last season. ``We're out there grinding it out for three hours, with high intensity and competition,'' Spurlock said. ``Even the waterboys are competing to see who can get the water out the fastest.'' Competition was the buzzword during the preseason after Orgeron declared all jobs open and gave returning starters no guarantees. ``They know if they miss an assignment or don't perform that day, they are moving down,'' he said. Spurlock appears to be ahead of junior Ethan Flatt and sophomore Robert Lane at quarterback. Junior Jamal Pittman and sophomore Alan Abrams are competing at tailback, and Orgeron is raving about BenJarvus Green-Ellis, who is sitting out the season after transferring from Indiana. Seniors Mario Hill and Mike Espy and junior college transfer Milton Collins are in the mix at receiver. And freshman Michael Oher surprisingly has found himself pushing sophomore Thomas Eckers at right guard. ``As soon as (Oher) learns what he needs to do, I think we will see some exciting things from him,'' Orgeron said. Orgeron built USC's defensive line into one of the nation's best, and is trying to do the same thing at Ole Miss. Three seniors with starting experience return on the line McKinley Boykin, Jayme Mitchell and Michael Bozeman and the coach hopes the physical linemen can free up space in the new 4-3 system for the linebacker to make plays. ``We may have to blitz a little more until we become a great pass rush unit up front,'' Orgeron said. The Rebels also must replace former Lou Groza Award winner Jonathan Nichols at kicker, and may ask Will Mosley to handle field goals, punts and kickoffs. The schedule appears challenging. The Rebels play three of their first four games in Tennessee against Memphis, Vanderbilt and the Volunteers. Then, they have a stretch of five of six games at home before the season-ending Egg Bowl against Mississippi State. Both of the Rebels' Division I-A nonconference opponents, Memphis and Wyoming, reached the postseason last year. And Ole Miss might be tempted to circle Nov. 19 when the Rebels play host to LSU in the Louisiana native's first meeting with his homestate school. Not that Orgeron is allowing the Rebels to look too far ahead or behind. ``We teach them to focus on the day at hand, and that is so challenging that they don't have a choice,'' he said. ``We don't hear too many things about the past, and if we do, we don't give it too much power.'' (Copyright 2005 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)