MSU, Ole Miss,USM tackle spring games
By By Will Bardwell / staff writer
April 16, 2004
Mississippi college football fans will get one final taste of spring football this weekend before the sport begins its long summer hibernation.
Ole Miss, Mississippi State and Southern Miss will each hold their annual spring games on Saturday on their respective campuses. The controlled intra-squad scrimmages will mark the end of each team's spring practices.
Though the games are usually highly anticipated by football fans starved for live action, coaches readily admit that cause for excitement is rare.
"We're so limited since we're in front of all the fans, so it's a very bland scrimmage," Ole Miss head coach David Cutcliffe said earlier this week. "We don't get to work in many of the wrinkles we've been working on."
Southern Miss and Ole Miss will begin the day of spring football on Saturday afternoon. The Black and Gold Game in Hattiesburg and the Red and Blue Game in Oxford will each begin at 1 p.m. Mississippi State's spring game will begin at 6 p.m.
Each game will introduce fans to new faces associated with the programs. The Bulldogs' spring game will be the first for new head coach Sylvester Croom, and Ole Miss fans will be introduced to Eli Manning's replacement, junior quarterback Micheal Spurlock. Southern Miss fans at the Black and Gold Game will get their first look at the new artificial turf at M.M. Roberts Stadium.
Spurlock not be the only No. 1 quarterback to make his debut on Saturday. Mississippi State fans will see plenty of time from sophomores Omarr Conner and Aries Nelson, who have taken most of the snaps during spring practice. When fall practices arrive, both are likely to see competition from junior Kyle York, who is recovering from shoulder surgery.
Junior quarterback Dustin Almond has been named the Golden Eagles' No. 1 quarterback by head coach Jeff Bower.
While the games may be little more than a walk-through for these new starting quarterbacks and other players at the top of the depth chart, the final scrimmages present up-and-coming reservists with opportunities to shine in front of coaches and fans alike.
"I want to see the backups show that they know what to do," Cutcliffe said. "You're only as good as your second team."
