Jevan Snead forewent his senior season and, like a boss, is selling insurance somewhere in the Texas Hill Country. Jeremiah Masoli, a one-year mercenary we Rebels were, frankly, lucky to have on our squad, graduated. Nathan Stanley decided that Ole Miss was no longer the place for him, and will now be quarterbacking the Southeastern Louisiana Lions (taht's another one for teh QB killar!1).
So here we are now, in a situation where, for the first time in a few years, the Rebels do not yet have a definite starter at quarterback headed into the final stretch of the offseason. Everyone has their guess as to who will get the starting nod to open the season against the BYU Cougars, but a consensus amongst the Rebel fan base has yet to be reached - hence this post.
Who will the starter at quarterback for the Ole Miss Rebels be?
Could it be Randall Mackey? After his recruitment and eventual rise in popularity amongst the Rebel faithful, Mackey seemed destined to be the guy for the 2011 campaign. He has a strong enough arm, decent mobility, a season's worth of experience in the Rebel program, and a winning reputation from both his high school and junior college days. There are issues with his size - he is a shade under six feet tall - and prior issues with a speech impediment, but sources tell the Cup that he is as ready as he has ever been to take on this role.
Or could it be Barry Brunetti? The Memphis native turned West Virginia Mountaineer turned Ole Miss Rebel earned an NCAA waiver to play immediately following his transfer to Oxford from Morgantown, and has been dubbed most likely to start by the Rebel coaches over the past few weeks. He has a Masoli-like build with a couple extra inches of height, a nice touch on the deep ball, and excellent mobility.
Or is the answer neither? Zack Stoudt transferred into Ole Miss from Western Iowa Community College, a school to which he transferred after his freshman season at Louisville. He is more of a pro-set style quarterback, but has the accuracy and pedigree (his father played for the Pittsburgh Steelers a few decades back) to suggest that there's potential. And then there's Mikhail Miller, who was easily the best high school quarterback in Mississippi last year and is currently sitting at 4th in the depth chart for this, his first season in Oxford.