Ole Miss hopes Nutt can do quick change

In the annals of Southeastern Conference coaching whirlwinds, Ole Miss performed one of the quickest last year in late November.

After blowing a two-touchdown lead in a 17-14 loss to Mississippi State on a Friday, Ole Miss fired Ed Orgeron the next day. By Monday, just three days after the Egg Bowl loss, the Rebels hired Arkansas coach Houston Nutt, who was introduced in Oxford two days later.

It was news flash after news flash for Rebels players, but tackle Michael Oher knew a good hire had been made.

“The Arkansas game always stuck out for me because we never had a chance,” Oher said, “so I know he knows how to score points.”

Nutt’s Razorbacks thumped Ole Miss 44-8 last season in Oxford and rolled to a 38-3 win in Fayetteville two years ago. His hiring only adds to what should be the SEC’s most intriguing team this season, as the Rebels seek to bounce back from a 3-9 season in which they were winless (0-8) in SEC games.

The nine-loss season was the first in Ole Miss history, as was that 0-8 league mark.

When Nutt held his first meeting with the Rebels, he asked how many had been to a bowl game. No hands went up.

“That motivates me and that excites me,” Nutt said. “You want to take them where they can’t go by themselves. That’s what coaching to me is all about — trying to make a difference in a young person’s life and taking them to the next level.”

Arkansas had endured consecutive 4-7 seasons under Danny Ford when Nutt arrived in 1998. Nutt didn’t waste any time on that rebuilding project, leading the Razorbacks to an 8-0 start and a Citrus Bowl date with Michigan.

He isn’t asking for much time in Oxford, even though the Rebels have a new quarterback, Jevan Snead, and a top returning tailback, Cordera Eason, who had three carries last year for 6 yards. Snead sat out last season after transferring from Texas, where he completed 26 of 49 passes for 371 yards in 2006 and rushed for 87 yards.

In the winter of ’06, Snead was rated the No. 5 prep quarterback nationally by RIvals.com, which put him in the elite company of Georgia’s Matthew Stafford and Florida’s Tim Tebow.

“Jevan Snead brings a lot to our team,” Nutt said of the 6-foot-3, 215-pounder. “He’s highly intelligent. He works extremely hard. I love his leadership. He has a strong arm and is very, very accurate, so he has all the qualities you need to be a quarterback.

“He did the scout team last year and had 15 practices this spring, so he hasn’t played in a while.”

Though Eason is the projected starter at tailback, Rebels fans are eager to see Enrique Davis, who signed with Auburn last year before failing to qualify and attending Hargrave Military in Chatham, Va. Davis was rated by Rivals.com as the nation’s No. 3 prep tailback in ’07 and the No. 1 postgraduate player earlier this year.

While Nutt admitted there are holes in the roster, he praised Orgeron for leaving him players such as Oher, receivers Shay Hodge, Mike Wallace and Marshay Green and nine defensive starters, including Greg Hardy and Peria Jerry up front.

Rebuild? Who’s got the time?

“We’re trying to change the mindset of our program,” Nutt said. “We want to win. We want to win right now.”

Said Jerry: “Everything is wide open. With Jevan at quarterback, I think we have a better opportunity to win games this year.”