Ole Miss’ search for a backup quarterback isn’t going as well as it hoped
The search for a backup quarterback at Ole Miss isn’t quite going as well as coach Hugh Freeze would have hoped.
With starter Bo Wallace out this spring while recovering from offseason shoulder surgery, the offensive onus has been on senior Barry Brunetti and sophomore Maikhail Miller and neither has seized the reins.
“We don’t go through the progression like you’re supposed to a lot of times and then we’ll have easy throws that we make difficult because of footwork that is bad and a lot of the stuff we do in the run game, they’re not involved in all of it that would really help us get those four yards,” Freeze told the Clarion-Ledger. “We got a ways to go at that spot.”
Brunetti is taking snaps with the first team while Miller is taking snaps with the second, however, the hope was that Miller would emerge as the undisputed backup and Brunetti could move to another position.
“I’m going to do what the team wants me to do, and get better at that,” Brunetti told the paper. “This spring I’m going to be a quarterback, so I’ll spend everyday trying to get better. What happens after spring, whatever they say, I’ll prepare myself.”
Brunetti is the more experienced of the two. He completed 23 of 36 passes last season for 196 yards and a touchdown. Miller played in two games, threw for 23 yards and no scores.
If neither of the two players seize the backup position, it will open the door for signees Ryan Buchanan and Devante Kincade to move into that role when they arrive in the summer.
Wallace’s recovery appears to be going well and he should be ready to start throwing in the summer. But an insurance policy, in case the shoulder doesn’t heal as well as it should, would be nice thing for the Rebels to have.
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