Ole Miss forward Murphy Holloway, gets a shot with the Baltimore Ravens

Former Ole Miss basketball player Murphy Holloway just completed his senior season in the NCAA tournament. Being a 6-6 power forward, Holloway figured that he was a long shot to make the NBA, even though he finished as the school's all time leading rebounder.

Instead of plying his trade overseas, Holloway has signed with the Baltimore Ravens. My guess is that he'll be trying out as a tight end.Holloway will be the latest former hardwood star to convert to the gridiron in the never ending quest for teams that try to convert undersized power forwards into pass catching tight ends.

Holloway was bypassed in the NFL Draft. He averaged 14.5 points and 9.7 boards as a senior.

I don't know his background as a football player but I figure he'll have a long way to go before he sees the field. But if Antonio Gates, Jimmy Graham and Tony Gonzalez can hit it big why not give it a shot.

Ole Miss basketball player joins the football team

Martavious Newby, a 6-3, 215 guard on the Ole Miss basketball team, was spotted in shoulder pads and a helmet earlier this week at spring practice. Newby does not really have a basketball frame, and I'm sure Hugh Freeze will be excited to have him. Newby will play linebacker for the Rebels. He also brings SEC Championship experience, in basketball, for whatever that's worth.

“We got to get him acclimated and figure out how to line up,” Freeze said. “He hasn’t been in a single meeting. He wouldn’t know if it was Monday or Thursday if we put him out there right now. Hopefully this spring we can get him in some contact drills and some individual (drills) and see what we think about him, and go from there.”

Newby was offered a scholarship by Freeze when he was at Arkansas State.

“Thought he was really talented, and he is,” Freeze said. “He’s athletic. It’s been a while, so we’ll see how he adjusts to this speed of this league. But he looks the part. He’s built right.”

We'll have to see if he can handle the rigors of an SEC football schedule.

Leach Linked To The Ole Miss Opening?

Another job opening, another Mike Leach rumor. After being metioned for the Tulane opening last week, Leach is being linked to the Ole Miss job after the Rebels canned Houston Nutt.

Let's see here, there have been Leach rumors of him going to Arizona, both of the New Mexico schools, Tulane, Florida International, even UCLA and they still have Rick Neuheisel at the helm, and now Ole Miss.

Leach sounds as if he's interested in the job if the Rebels will have him.

“I haven’t heard from anybody, but I’m not too hard to find,” Leach said. “It’s a great job. I’m sure the (Ole Miss) administration has a certain individual it is looking for, and I’m sure they’ll find the right guy.”


No one knows if Leach will actually be a candidate for the job. There is the matter of the pending lawsuit against Texas Tech, which probably means he won't be coaching anywhere.

Leach is one of the brighter offensive minds in the college game and would be a great hire. I do think he brings a lot to the table when it comes to exciting football. I think he will end up at some sort of middle of the road BCS team and Ole Miss could be it. No coach that is thinking of winning a national championship is going to Ole Miss, but Leach clearly would. They should make the call.


  

Ole Miss Needs To Get It Together Upstairs

After their shocking (to some) loss to Jacksonville State, Ole Miss needs to do some serious soul searching to get their season back on track. Don't get me wrong, the rebels weren't a serious SEC title contender or highly regarded like last season. They still have the talent to make a bowl game and one of the best coaches in the nation that does more when less is expected in Houston Nutt. The task for Nutt is to make sure they get over this loss and do it quickly. After last season when expectations were high, and the Rebels fell flat on their face, this was the last thing they needed. As a fan, i saw what happened to Michigan after the loss to Appalachian State. They were housed by Oregon at home after the App. State loss, but eventually rebounded to play in a New Year's Day bowl and beat Florida in Lloyd Carr's final game. It seemed like they never really recovered from that loss. I've seen it happen to teams in various sports. Some don't recover from a shocking upset loss. To avoid a tailspin, they need to lay a beatdown on Tulane next week. It's a roadie and in the world of college football anyhting can happen. The Rebels need to avoid overlooking the Green Wave and come out hard. Don't let up off the gas pedal and totally annihilate Tulane. I'm not saying Tulane is a world beater or a pushover. This is a game they should win, same as the game against Vandy. Games they should win, but at this point and time, they shouldn't be overlooking anyone. Especially after falling to Jacksonville State, at home no less. They need to recover quickly or this season can go in the toilet, real fast.