Questions surround Ole Miss as SEC Football Media Days start Monday
National and regional media wanting to question Hugh Freeze about his school’s current NCAA investigation will have to hang around a while in Hoover, Alabama to do it.
SEC Football Media Days begins Monday, and Freeze, the Ole Miss coach, will be among the final participants.
SEC commissioner Greg Sankey will kick off things mid-day Monday and will be followed by coaches Gus Malzahn of Auburn, Jim McElwain of Florida and Derek Mason of Vanderbilt.
Mississippi State coach Dan Mullen will speak on Day 2, while Freeze will close things out Thursday along with LSU coach Les Miles and South Carolina’s Will Muschamp, one of three new coaches in the league.
When Freeze isn’t answering questions about the NCAA, he’ll likely be asked to share his plan for replacing Laremy Tunsil at left tackle.
The Rebels were 5-2 without Tunsil last year – though one of those wins came at Alabama – but 5-1 and a much more effective offense with him.
The only Ole Miss loss after Tunsil returned from a seven-game suspension was 53-52 in overtime against Arkansas.
As the Rebels transition at left tackle there’s a lot of excitement around five-star freshman Greg Little of Allen, Texas.
However, the first crack at replacing Tunsil will go to redshirt freshman Alex Givens, who was the starter at left tackle at the end of spring drills.
“We’re real excited about Alex. I love his work ethic, love his body,” Freeze said. “He’s just a young kid that’s got to have some time and more reps. He’s just going to get better and better.”
Recruiting services ranked Little as the No. 1 offensive lineman and a consensus top-five overall prospect.
Freeze raved about him on signing day saying, “We think he has the best feet in America.”
He dialed back the praise later in the spring and seemed to point toward an August competition at left tackle.
“We’re hopeful that (Little) is one that can play. I’m not going to sit here today before I’ve ever seen him practice and say we’re relying on him, but do we expect him to come in play, we do.”
SEC Media Day
When: Monday through Thursday
Where: Hoover, Ala.
TV: SEC Network
Monday’s Schedule: Auburn, Florida, Vanderbilt, 11:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Tuesday’s Schedule: Georgia, Mississippi State, Tennessee, Texas A&M, 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Wednesday’s Schedule: Alabama, Arkansas, Kentucky, Missouri, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Thursday’s Schedule: LSU, Ole Miss, South Carolina, 9 a.m. to Noon.
This story was originally published July 10, 2016 at 2:54 PM with the headline "Questions surround Ole Miss as SEC Football Media Days start Monday."