Bhupathi Inspiring Nation

Former Rebel NCAA Tennis Champion Mahesh Bhupathi is obviously a big name in in his home country of India. He became the first Indian to win a Grand Slam title in 1997 and has totaled 11 Grand Slam doubles titles over his career. Bhupathi's success has contributed to a rise in the popularity of the sport in his homeland, and a reunion with his former doubles mate Leander Paes expects to have an even greater impact. It is the subject of a CNN story today.

Records In Sight For Bolden

Quietly, Brandon Bolden has piled up some monster stats during his Ole Miss career, and now set for his senior season, he has a chance to conquer some impressive Rebel records in 2011. Here is how B.B. stacks up against some of the all-time marks in sight, all of which belong to, you guessed it, Deuce McAllister.

Career rushing yards: Bolden 2,132 (McAllister 3,060) -928
Career all-purpose yards: Bolden 3,062 (McAllister 4,889) -1,827
Career rushing TDs: Bolden 23 (McAllister 37) -14
Career TDs scored: Bolden 28 (McAllister 41) -13

Former Rebel Named HS Coach of Year

Many of you will remember former Rebel Chad Cook. The linebacker was a key member of a very successful class, which included Romaro Miller and Deuce McAllister and reached a bowl in each of its four seasons (1997 - 2000). Cook has continued his winning ways as a high school coach. As the head man at Shannon, he directed the Red Raiders to a 10-4 record this season and was named the Daily Journal's Coach of the Year. Read more about it in today's paper.

Watch Nutt, Walls Tee It Up

As we reported on the main site, Ole Miss head coach Houston Nutt and former Rebel All-American Wesley Walls hit the links for charity back in April. The Ole Miss pair earned $10,000 in scholarship donations at the Chick-fil-A Bowl Challenge charity golf tournament at Reynolds Plantation resort outside of Atlanta. Catch highlights of the fourth annual event, which featured coaches and celebrity alumni from other ACC and SEC schools, on Wednesday at 4 p.m. CT on ESPN2.

Merry Christmas From The Rebels

Rebels' NFL Total At 23

Looking at ESPN.com's NFL database, Ole Miss' list of former players currently playing in the league is up to 23, which ranks seventh in the SEC. Here is how the numbers shake out according to ESPN.com.

LSU - 45
Georgia - 39
Tennessee - 38
Florida - 34
Auburn - 28
Alabama - 26
Ole Miss - 23
South Carolina - 20
Arkansas - 15
Mississippi State - 14
Kentucky - 11
Vanderbilt - 11

Geralds Returns To States

After a year in Canada, former Rebel Daverin Geralds is back in the states -- his homestate to boot. As reported in Wednesday's Gwinnett Daily Post, Geralds has signed to play with the Georgia Force for the 2011 Arena Football League season. The offensive lineman spent time in NFL training camps with both the Cleveland Browns and New Orleans Saints before eventually signing and playing the 2010 season with the Montreal Alouettes of the Canadian Football League.

Former Rebel Shining As Prep Coach

Off to an 8-3 start after last night's win over MVSU, the Ole Miss women's hoops team is winning with one of the youngest lineups in the SEC. The Rebels had to replace six players off last year's NIT team including senior guard LaKendra Phillips, who has stayed in the game as an assistant coach for her high school alma mater Ridgeway in Memphis. Check out a great feature on Ken in Wednesday's Commercial Appeal. Visit the high school page on commercialappeal.com.

Football Signee Highlights

As you saw on the main site, some talented JUCO players joined the Rebel football program today. Among them is QB Zack Stoudt, and although we don't know much about him yet, we can confirm he has a strong arm. Exhibit A ...



Here are some game action highlights of Stoudt and fellow signees Ivan Nicholas, Gilbert Pena and Wesley Pendleton.

Low Likes 2011 Rebels

Despite the tough 2010 campaign, there is optimism around Oxford for a bounceback season for the Rebels next year. Names like Brandon Bolden and D.T. Shackelford headline a list of talented returnees, which includes 42 underclassmen (18 freshmen) that gained valuable experience this season. ESPN.com's Chris Low also likes Ole Miss in 2011, saying on his SEC blog today:

Not much will be expected from the Rebels next season, and Nutt has traditionally been at his best in that underdog role. That said, look for Ole Miss to bounce back next season with its third bowl appearance in four seasons under Nutt.

Nix isn't going to have two bad defenses in a row. And on offense, the running game should be even more explosive in 2011.

Archie Plays Host

The college football world converged on NYC last week as the National Football Foundation and other groups hosted their annual postseason festivities in the Big Apple. The Mannings took part in the celebration, as Archie hosted a luncheon that included Mack Brown, Phillip Fulmer and former Ole Miss head coach David Cutcliffe among others. Eli Manning was also on hand for the comparisons between himself and former Rebel-turned-Giant QB Charlie Conerly. Read more about the reception in Tuesday's Rome News Tribune.

Rebels Featured In FCA Magazine

Todd Johnson, Jason Cook and Peggie Gillom-Granderson do a tremendous job with Ole Miss FCA in providing support to our Rebel student-athletes. Recently, a few of our football players shared thoughts on their faith with the FCA national publication, Share The Victory. Here is what they said.

Zack Brent: "On the field we should give our all and give Him glory for the opportunity He’s given us. And, even if we are on the sidelines, we should give it our all, praying for the guys on both teams who are on the field and asking that God’s will be done.”

Reggie Hicks: “The ability to play football is a God-given talent, and I give all my passion, energy and fire for the Lord. It’s kind of like my worship service. My playing is the most elaborate worship I can give Him.”

Jason Jones: “God has given us our talents and abilities, and we should worship Him every time we have the opportunity—on or off the field. In every aspect of daily life, everything we do should be worship to Him and should bring Him glory.”

Powe Up For Rudy Award

Admittedly, "Rudy" is probably one of my five all-time favorite movies. In 2007, Daniel ‘Rudy’ Ruettiger founded The College Football Rudy Awards to honor inspirational and motivational football players that display "The Four C's": Character, Courage, Contribution & Commitment. Among the nominees is our own Jerrell Powe, who overcame many obstacles before enjoying an All-SEC career at Ole Miss. Thirteen recognizable college football figures comprise the selection committee, and the 14th vote is from the fans.

Cast your vote for Powe by visiting collegerudyawards.com. Voting will close at 7 pm CT on December 13. Online fan voting is limited to one vote per day, and results will be posted on December 14.

Cool Rifle Spot

Check out this great commercial for Ole Miss Rifle, produced by Matthew Graves of the University's Media & Documentary Projects department.

Ole Miss Rifle Spot from UM Media Documentary Projects on Vimeo.

High Praise For Wallace On ESPN.com

"A budding superstar receiver in this league." Those were Trent Dilfer's words regarding former Rebel and current Pittsburgh Steeler Mike Wallace. If you visited ESPN.com today, you noticed Wallace among the top headlines, and the article is a long feature that delves all the way back to Mike's childhood in NOLA. It's a great read, and below is the video portion of the package.