Ole Miss center Evan Swindall (56)Evan Swindall isn't one for easing into a starting assignment.
As an Ole Miss freshman center last season, the former LaFayette High School standout earned his first career start at Alabama. Last Saturday, Swindall earned his first sophomore start against the visiting Crimson Tide.
The Rebels took their opening possession 72 yards in five plays to grab a 7-0 lead before a delighted home crowd, but Ole Miss was limited to 69 yards the rest of the way as the No. 2 Tide rolled 52-7.
"They're tough, and they're strong guys, but I liked it," Swindall said. "It's fun to play against good teams like that, because it just shows you what you're dealing with on a competition level. I could have pass-blocked a little better. I run-blocked all right.
"We were playing such a good opponent."
Swindall got in six games last season and made two starts. His latest start came about after junior A.J. Hawkins was among four Rebels who were suspended last week for breaking team rules.
Those four, including starting tailback Brandon Bolden, are back for this week's home game against No. 10 Arkansas, but Swindall is listed ahead of Hawkins on the depth chart.
"Evan graded out good going against one of the best defenses in the country," Ole Miss coach Houston Nutt said. "There were times, of course, that he didn't always get his block, but we didn't have any illegal procedures, and the ball starts with him. He had some excellent snaps and all those things, and we are very proud of him."
Swindall, a 6-foot-2, 306-pounder, is one of two Ole Miss linemen who prepped in the Chattanooga area. His roommate, sophomore right guard Jared Duke, played at Walker Valley High School.
The 6-7, 346-pound Duke got in nine games last season and started five on a front that wound up leading the Southeastern Conference in fewest sacks allowed with 14. Duke has played only on the extra-point team so far this year, with junior Matt Hall, a transfer from Arkansas, entrenched as the starting right guard.
"Jared was a little bit out of shape early on, but he's coming back strong," Nutt said. "He will be a good football player, but he's just young. He played a lot last year due to injury, but this year he has not been on the field quite as much."
Said Duke: "They're fair here, and the best man will play. Right now I'm just trying to make Matt Hall better."
Swindall was coached by his father, Perry Swindall, in high school, first at Spain Park in the Birmingham suburb of Hoover and then at LaFayette. He played one season for the Ramblers, and his father coached LaFayette for two years before moving to Oxford as well to coach Oxford's eighth-grade team.
Unfortunately for Duke and Swindall, victories these days are few and far between.
On the heels of back-to-back nine-win seasons that culminated with Cotton Bowl victories, Ole Miss plummeted to 4-8 last year and is 2-4 at the midway mark this season. The Rebels have gone more than a year without a league victory, and Nutt is the first Ole Miss coach ever to lose nine straight SEC games.
Just four years ago, Ed Orgeron got canned after losing eight straight SEC games with the Rebels.
"It's not fun," Nutt said. "Winning is how you spell fun. You try and win each and every Saturday. This conference, especially on the Western side, is one of the toughest conferences in America because of the caliber of athlete that is on the field every Saturday."
Athletes with whom Duke and Swindall are quite familiar.
"It's been great and everything I was looking for in college as far as playing wise, but it's been frustrating that we've been losing," Swindall said. "Nobody likes to lose. I don't put any of that on the coaches. We just happen to play really good teams, and it just hasn't fallen our way.
"We're still very focused on what we need to do."