HOOVER, Ala. -- Houston Nutt has been on the job at Ole Miss for almost nine months, but everything changes when the Rebels open the 2008 season on Aug. 30 against the Memphis Tigers.
They start keeping score.
Nutt inherited the first Ole Miss team to go winless in SEC play since 1982, and it's been a smooth transition from the Ed Orgeron era. The former Arkansas coach admits the Rebels have some work to do, particularly on their mental approach to the game.
"I think Ed did an excellent job of recruiting," Nutt said Thursday morning at SEC Media Days. "(But) there's some holes at some different spots, different positions. There were some players who didn't make it to campus (for academic reasons).
"But if you look at (linemen) Greg Hardy, Michael Oher, Peria Jerry... look at the receivers - Michael Wallace, Shay Hodge, Lionel Breaux, Dexter McCluster - there's spots (with) tremendous athleticism. Boy, that really excites you.
"My whole problem is you have a group of guys that have had very little success the last three, four years."
Ole Miss went 10-27 in three seasons under Orgeron, winning just three SEC games.
"Hopefully, you change the mind-set, one that won't accept losing," Nutt said.
Oher, perhaps the nation's best offensive tackle, returned to Ole Miss for his senior year after initially making himself eligible for the NFL Draft. He'll be protecting the blind side for sophomore quarterback Jevan Snead, who sat out the 2007 season after transferring from Texas.
The Rebels have lacked stability at the game's most critical position since Eli Manning was the first player chosen in the 2004 NFL Draft. Snead is expected to change all that.
"Jevan Sneed brings a lot to our team," Nutt said. "He's highly intelligent. I love his leadership. That's where you start. He makes great decisions. He has a strong arm. Very accurate. He has all the qualities you need in a quarterback.
"But he hasn't played in a while."
Nutt hired former Southern Miss defensive coordinator Tyrone Nix to that same spot with the Rebels, after a three-year stint at South Carolina, and he expects a change in his defense's mind-set, too.
Hardy led the SEC with 10 sacks last season and is one of the Rebels' nine returning defensive starters.
"I've known Tyrone since his Southern Miss days," Nutt said. "His teams play hard and they play with a passion. They play just the way he played. And there's only one way, all-out."
Still, the Rebels ranked last in the SEC in scoring, averaging 20 points per game. They'll have to show significant improvement there to contend for a winning season and a bowl game.
It all starts between the ears, as far as Nutt is concerned.
"We're trying to change the mind-set of our program," Nutt said. "We want to win. We want to win right now."
SEC MEDIA DAYS
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