OXFORD, Miss. -- Shea Patterson had a three-game, crash course as Mississippi's quarterback in November after senior starter Chad Kelly went down with a knee injury.
Now, the Rebels belong to him.
Ready or not, the 6-foot-2, 203-pound sophomore is the new face of the Ole Miss football program. The former five-star recruit was the main attraction during Saturday's intrasquad spring game and for the most part delivered, completing 21 of 30 passes for 341 yards and 2 touchdowns.
"He's settled in and everybody knows that," Ole Miss Coach Hugh Freeze said. "So he gives us a confidence."
Patterson's bright future is one reason for optimism in an otherwise uncertain time for the Ole Miss football program. The Rebels are coming off a disappointing 5-7 season and in the midst of an NCAA investigation for rules violations that already caused the program to self-impose a postseason ban for the upcoming season.
"We still have 12 games against the best teams in the country and play every day in the best conference," Patterson said. "The vision doesn't change."
Patterson -- at times -- lived up to his considerable five-star hype during his three games last season. He threw for 880 yards and six touchdowns and led Ole Miss on a stunning fourth-quarter comeback in a win over Texas A&M.
But there were also some negatives. He completed just 54.5 percent of his passes, which was considerably lower than Kelly's 62.5 percent mark. Freeze said Patterson also had a tendency to scramble when a little patience could have led to a big passing gain downfield.
Patterson has some talented playmakers around him. A.J. Brown, Van Jefferson and D.K. Metcalf will likely be the top three options at receiver after promising freshmen seasons.
They were productive during Saturday's spring game: Brown caught 5 passes for 133 yards, Metcalf caught 4 for 98 yards and Jefferson caught 6 for 126 yards. All of them caught a touchdown pass.
Auburn
Good day for Stidham
AUBURN, Ala. -- One telltale sign that it was a good day for Jarrett Stidham: A tailback's fumble near the goal line bounced into the Auburn quarterback's arms for a touchdown.
The one-time Baylor starter supplied fans at Saturday's spring game with hope that a passing game that's frequently sputtered the past few seasons is due for some improvement, deep balls and all. Stidham, who arrived in January after sitting out last season at a Texas junior college, made a good impression after three months of hype.
Playing only in the first half in front of 46,331 fans, Stidham completed 16 of 20 passes for 267 yards in leading the first-team offense. He also scored on that 1-yard run after collecting the fumble -- which he called "offense by accident" -- and had four completions topping 30 yards.
"It was a blast," Stidham said. "It's been a while for me, so I had a lot of fun. A ton of fun."
Coach Gus Malzahn said Stidham managed the offense well. "I thought that he protected the football; that's really where it starts," Malzahn said. "It was good for him to get out there in front of a crowd. He hadn't been out in front of a crowd playing football in a long time."
Teammates say Stidham has fit in well since his arrival. First-year offensive coordinator Chip Lindsey praised the 6-foot-2, 210-pound sophomore for his frequent visits to the football building to study film on his own time.
"That's the characteristic of a really good quarterback," Lindsey said.
Mississippi State
Change on the way
STARKVILLE, Miss. -- Mississippi State Coach Dan Mullen was clear that changes needed to be made after a mediocre season.
His top priority: A more physical and aggressive demeanor on the defensive side of the ball.
Mullen hired former Louisville and Georgia defensive coordinator Todd Grantham over the winter to handle the overhaul. That process started this spring and was evident in Saturday's intrasquad spring game.
The White squad defeated the Maroon 21-10 in a game that featured five interceptions, including two returned for touchdowns. Starting quarterback Nick Fitzgerald threw four of those interceptions while freshman cornerback Cameron Dantzler and safety Brian Cole had the interceptions returned for touchdowns.
Dantzler had two interceptions in the game.
"You know the defense I want to play here with, which is guys flying to the football as hard as they can, trying to go make plays and playing an aggressive style of defense," Mullen said. "We want to be aggressive and flying around. I saw some of that out there on the field today."
Mississippi State's defensive changes include Grantham and safeties coach Ron English, but weren't limited to the coaching staff. The Bulldogs brought in four junior college defensive linemen -- Montez Sweat, Lee Autry, Deion Pope and Chauncey Rivers -- to beef up the front line. Sweat (Michigan State) and Rivers (Georgia) have both played at the Football Bowl Subdivision level before.
Mississippi State needed some changes on defense after a rough season that included a 6-7 record. The Bulldogs' main problem was they struggled to stop anybody, giving up nearly 32 points per game which ranked 13th out of 14 SEC teams.
Sports on 04/09/2017