Rebels enjoying new field surface

By By Will Bardwell / staff writer
Sept. 16, 2003
OXFORD Ole Miss head coach David Cutcliffe is looking for consistency out of his football team, and he has found it in at least one place the Rebels' new artificial playing surface.
AstroPlay, the new turf surface at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium, is made of small synthetic fibers. It was installed over the summer, replacing the natural grass surface that had been used since 1984.
One of the advantages of AstroPlay is that it provides excellent traction so that players rarely slip, even in wet conditions. The turf at Ole Miss was put to that test quickly after a light rain fell in Oxford on Saturday and then again briefly during the game.
Cutcliffe said the players adjusted quickly to the surface, but the surface also had to adjust to the players.
AstroPlay is not the first artificial surface to be installed at Vaught-Hemingway. From 1970-1983, Ole Miss played its home games on AstroTurf essentially a carpet and foam pad placed over concrete.
The AstroPlay design is more complex, consisting of two layers of fibers. A layer of shredded fibers about an inch long and a fraction of an inch wide lies on top of a thicker layer of thinner, smaller fibers. Those two layers are attached to a seamless rubber pad, underneath which lies a layer of small rubber shavings.
Redshirt freshman running back Jamal PIttman, who rushed for 75 yards and a touchdown on Saturday, said he prefers the AstroPlay surface even to natural grass. The surface gives way to runners, and Pittman said the shock absorbing qualities of the turf are particularly nice especially when being tackled onto it.
The surface also drains quickly, providing a dry, even surface under almost all conditions.
AstroTurf surfaces are notorious for causing injuries, ranging from turf toe to torn ligaments. Unlike AstroTurf, which has seams at adjoining sections, AstroPlay comes in one piece. It is custom made and then rolled out onto the field.
Pittman, who tore his anterior cruciate ligament in spring practice, said he does not worry about the artificial surface aggravating his old injury.