On the ESPN Blog. The Ole Miss fans that posted below this seem to think Stanley will beat him out for the quarterback job. Interesting. Go to Ole Miss and be looked down upon, come to KSU and be the man.
Jeremiah Masoli sees Ole Miss up close
July, 30, 2010 Jul 3012:07PM ETEmail Print Comments204 By Chris LowThere are sure to be plenty of Jeremiah Masoli sightings on Ole Miss' campus these next couple of days.
He flew in Friday morning and is making the rounds, which should be one of the final pieces of the puzzle to get him in school and on the field this fall for the Rebels.
There's only a slight chance this thing could fall through, that the administration at Ole Miss could get cold feet at the last minute. But that's probably not going to happen unless Masoli has a bad visit.
Everybody involved knows the stakes. If Masoli gets in even a trace of trouble, Ole Miss is going to look foolish for taking him, especially after what happened with Jamar Hornsby last year.
Masoli certainly isn't going into this thing blind. After all, his family has hired a top Los Angeles public relations firm, Sitrick And Company, to help smooth out Masoli's image during this process. He even has his own web page, which includes an apology by Masoli for his past run-ins with the law and points out errors that have been made about him in the media.
Coaches take chances on players all the time. If Masoli stays out of trouble and helps the Rebels win a few more games, then the gamble's worth it. Plus, it gives him a chance to repair his image.
If there are further issues, then a fair question to ask is: What's it going to take for the Rebels to stay away from troubled kids?
In this case, Houston Nutt has to have another quarterback. The Ole Miss staff simply doesn't think incoming junior college newcomer Randall Mackey is ready to be an every-down quarterback. That leaves one guy -- Nathan Stanley.
Stanley had a solid spring, and the players like him. Rest assured that if the Rebels do indeed take Masoli that he's going to have to earn his way. Nutt's been around this game long enough that he's not just going to automatically turn over the keys to the Ole Miss offense to Masoli.
The guess here is that Stanley is the Rebels' starter in the opener against Jacksonville State and it evolves from there. The good news is that the schedule is probably going to allow for some experimenting. The Rebels will be favorites in their first five games, and four of those are at home.
