Here's a look inside Ole Miss' newly renovated Manning Center
Aug. 11—OXFORD — The media was given a tour of the newly renovated Manning Center, which opened in late July, on Friday.
The project cost $45.7 million, according to Ole Miss, and added 39,500 square feet to the facility and a second story. The facility is now 221,000 square feet. The project began in January of 2022.
The facility features a renovated 9,000-square foot locker room; each locker has a reclinable chair with in it and a shoe-drying rack. The new weight room in the facility is 12,000 square feet. There is also a gaming room, a photo room for recruits complete with equipment and props as well as a small theater.
"The new Manning Center is another example of our commitment to providing our student-athletes and coaches with the resources necessary to compete at a championship level," Ole Miss athletics director Keith Carter said in a statement in July.
"We want to thank our partners ICM and CDFL/HOK for their dedication and great work on this project. The Ole Miss family continues to step up in a big way financially to help make facility vision like this come to life, and we could not be more grateful for their unyielding support in this and other ventures. Most of all, we are excited to reopen a first-class facility that bears the Manning name, and we want it to be a source of great pride for Olivia, Archie and the rest of the family."
Charlie Weis Jr. working on problem areas
Now in his second year as Ole Miss' offensive coordinator, Charlie Weis Jr. is focused on problem solving.
Weis assumed the mantle as the leader of the Rebels' high-flying offense following the departure of Jeff Lebby to Oklahoma following the 2021 season.
In their first season under Weis, the Rebels averaged 33.5 points per game, good for 28th nationally and fifth in the SEC. Ole Miss was particularly impressive in the running game, averaging 256.6 yards rushing per game — which ranked third in the country — behind All-SEC running back Quinshon Judkins' program-record 1,567 yards and 16 touchdowns. Weis was the offensive coordinator at FAU under Kiffin in 2018 and 2019.
Following the departure of star quarterback Matt Corral, Ole Miss was a bit of a work-in-progress under center last season. The competition between USC transfer Jaxson Dart and Luke Altmyer lasted a few games into the regular season before Dart ultimately won out. The Utah native threw for 2,974 yards, 20 touchdowns and 11 interceptions and added 614 yards rushing. All-in-all, Ole Miss ranked eighth nationally in total offense at 496.4 yards per game.
It wasn't all perfect offensively, however, and Weis will be the first to admit there was plenty to work on this offseason. Among them was the Rebels' redzone offense, which had a success-rate of 79.7%. That figure ranked 98th nationally and third-to-last in the SEC; in 64 trips inside the opposing 20-yard line, Ole Miss scored 42 touchdowns and nine field goals. Ole Miss was also among the most turnover-prone teams nationally, as the Rebels' 21 total turnovers (12 interceptions, nine lost fumbles) was tied for 91st in the country and was third-most in the SEC.
For the first time in preseason camp, Weis met with the media Friday.
"Last year, there was some good, some bad in it. Just getting back working with Coach Kiffin again and getting back in that flow has been really good," Weis said. "We really took a lot of time this offseason to really attack some of the areas that we were not as effective last year, to find some better solutions for that. I think that's been the biggest thing, is looking back on last season, seeing where we as coaches could improve and get our players in the best possible situations, and then going out and doing our studies."
For the second-straight season, Ole Miss enters fall practice with a quarterback quandary. Dart returns for his junior season, and the Rebels also added Oklahoma State's Spencer Sanders and LSU's Walker Howard from the transfer portal. Sanders was a four-year starter for the Cowboys who earned first-team All-Big 12 honors in 2021. Howard redshirted his lone season with the Tigers but was a four-star recruit in the 2022 class.
Dart shined during the spring and has carried that play into the first few weeks of the fall, looking sharp and in command. Weis chimed in with head coach Lane Kiffin and teammates in commending Dart for his improvements as a player and leader since the season ended, as well as for the entire quarterback room and how it has handled competition.
"I commend those guys ... a lot of times you have that, you get some tension because of competition, all that," Weis said. "But I feel like those guys have been tremendous and handled it in a very mature way, and they come in with the right mindset each and every day to get better."
While Weis did mention a few keys he believes are important for his quarterback to show, he said it is ultimately Kiffin's job to choose the starter. Weis' job, he said, is to prepare the contenders as best he can.
"At the end of the day, he's the one who's going to have to make that decision. But there's a variety of factors that go into it — taking care of the football, explosive plays, who can operate the offense most efficiently, who can play with tempo," Weis said. " ... It's my job to get all of those guys to play at their absolute best so Coach (Kiffin) can make a decision that he feels very comfortable with."
Spencer Sanders not at practice
Sanders was not present at the portion of practice open to the media Friday morning. He was finishing an exam, Ole Miss said.
