Rebels enjoying rare Saturday off, but staying focused on upcoming game against Alabama
OXFORD, Miss. – It may not be a vacation, but Ole Miss finally gets a break this weekend.
The Rebels are the final Southeastern Conference team to enjoy a bye week and it comes at an advantageous time. Ole Miss has played nine consecutive weeks and enjoys a Saturday off after earning an 8-1 record.
The players’ plans for the time away from the field vary. Some made travel plans; some do not plan to travel farther than their couches.
“For me honestly, it’s just staying off my feet,” defensive back AJ Finley said.
“Just get as much rest as possible and get my legs back, the main thing is just staying off my feet. I’ll probably watch a little bit of Alabama going into the weekend and stuff, but really just staying off my feet.”
AJ Finley on how he’ll spend his time off
As Finley props his feet up, offensive lineman Nick Broeker plans to put the pedal to the metal.
“I think I might drive up to Memphis and see John Rhys Plumlee play,” Broeker said. “That’s my plan right now.”
Plumlee is the quarterback at UCF after transferring from Ole Miss last spring. The Knights appear in the latest Associated Press poll checking in at No. 25. Last week, UCF (6-2), knocked off No. 20 Cincinnati, 25-21. Plumlee missed the second half after suffering a head injury but will travel when the Knights head to the Liberty Bowl to take on Memphis.
While the players’ weekend plans differ, they all have one thing in common. They all want to avoid listening to any information that might take them away from focusing on the remainder of the season.
“I don’t get on social media that much so honestly it’s not that hard for me to stay out of that stuff,” Finley said. “I mean for other guys, I really couldn’t tell you how they stay out of it but for me personally, I don’t pay too much attention to it.”
Social media is one aspect of where the information originates. It also is on television.
“I think it’s a little tough in general with Twitter, Instagram, ESPN and everything,” Broeker said.
“In this day and age, it’s hard not to figure out stuff, we definitely have to like kind of turn that stuff off and concentrate on what’s really relevant to the team.”
Ole Miss OL Nick Broeker on social media and tv
Defensive end Cedric Johnson tries to put the unnecessary talk out of his mind by looking ahead. “Just really trying to focus on the next game, that’s all that really matters,” Johnson said.
“(I) try to avoid looking at rankings, like Kiffin always says, ‘that’s rat poison,’ we just try to avoid looking at that, it’s not going to help us anyway.”
Ole Miss DE Cedric Johnson
But one medium may help the players this weekend. The Rebels’ next opponent, Alabama, plays at LSU on television Saturday. Finley plans to watch the game to get an early start on his personal scouting.
“I feel like I take mental notes every time I watch film,” Finley said. “Just seeing what guys do and what they like to do and what they do in certain formations, situations, that’s always what I do is take mental notes.”
Ole Miss hosts Alabama next Saturday at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium. Kickoff is set for 2:30 p.m. and can be seen on CBS.
(Feature image credit: Josh McCoy, Ole Miss)
Steve Barnes
Steve Barnes joins The Rebel Walk staff as a senior writer and brings a trifecta of journalistic experience. As a writer, he has covered college sports for Rivals.com, Football.com and SaturdayDownSouth.com as well as served as a beat writer for various traditional newspapers.
He has been a broadcaster for arena football and several national tournament events for the National Junior College Athletic Association as well as hosting various shows on radio.
A former sports information director at Albany (Ga.) State University and an assistant at Troy and West Florida, he has helped host many NCAA conference, regional and national events, including serving five years on the media committee of the NCAA Division II World Series.
Barnes, a native of Pensacola, Fla., attended Ole Miss in 1983-84, where his first journalism teacher was David Kellum. The duo has come a long way since that time.
He will bring a proven journalistic track record, along with a knack for finding the out-of-the-ordinary story angles to The Rebel Walk.
Barnes continues to reside in Pensacola a mere ten minutes from the beach because he does have taste and a brain.
