JACKSON, Miss. (AP) -Memphis quarterback Arkelon Hall will drop back several times this Sunday when the Tigers play No. 8 Mississippi and heave the ball into space. The higher the better.
Think of it as the football version of the alley oop. With a couple of receivers who have the stature of basketball players, it’s a pivotal strategy in a game that figures to be full of passes.
Waiting for Hall’s passes to come down are 6-foot-9 Carlos Singleton and 6-4 Duke Calhoun.
“I just feel like if you throw a ball up 10 foot high it’s hard for a defensive back to watch you and the ball at the same time, so by the time you jump it will be too late,” Calhoun said. “That’s what our quarterbacks are taught, to throw the ball 10 foot high.”
s. They have to defend the lob, just like a power forward.
“Any time a wide receiver is 6-9 and 6-4, that’s a big-time talent,” Green said. “Basically we’ve just been working on trying to box the wide receivers out and put our arms through their hands trying to separate him and the ball.”
The matchup in the Ole Miss defensive backfield will go a long way toward answering one of the Rebels’ more pressing questions as they make the case they are Southeastern Conference contenders.
Ole Miss finished last in the league in pass defense last season, something that could have been predicted when coach Houston Nutt took over. He found an empty secondary and immediately moved Green over from wide receiver. With little experience and no backups, Green and Vaughn struggled but got better as the season went along.
It turned triumphant in the Cotton Bowl when the Rebels shut down Texas Tech’s vaunted passing attack and wide receiver Michael Crabtree. Green was named defensive MVP after returning an interception for a touchdown and mostly shutting down Crabtree in his final college game.
re, it was beautiful to see. It was a team thing. There was no selfishness in what he did. We needed him.”
Still do. Green and Vaughn are confident as the season starts, but many of the same questions remain about the secondary after two top prospects were unable to join the team. Kendrick Lewis and Johnny Brown start at the safety positions, and coaches feel good about their starters.
After that, though, it gets questionable real fast. So there will be little respite for Vaughn and Green at the Liberty Bowl. They can expect to play almost every down. And since the Tigers are short-handed at receiver, they can also expect to see Singleton and Calhoun across the line.
The four played each other last season and coach Houston’s Nutt’s staff doesn’t need to look at film to gauge the challenge. The duo combined for 10 catches and 132 yards in last year’s game.
“Singleton is a very good player – good hands and a great jump-ball catcher,” Nutt said. “And Calhoun’s the same way. We recruited Duke, and so we know these guys pretty good. They’re just very, very talented and always going to create problems for people.”
Both are motivated, too. Each could reach career milestones in the game. Singleton needs just one more catch to own the touchdown receptions record at 20, while Calhoun needs four catches for 66 yards to become the leader in those categories.
houn said. “It’s going to happen when it happens, but hopefully it will happen in the first game live on ESPN.”
Not if Vaughn and Green have anything to do with it. And they’ll have plenty of assistance.
Vaughn said one of the many lessons he and Green learned last year was that pass defense is as much about linemen collapsing the pocket and linebackers rushing the throw as it is about blanket coverage.
“I don’t feel like there’s a weakness in our secondary,” Vaughn said. “It’s a team thing. It’s just not our secondary out there on the field.”
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