HottyToddy.com’s Daily Ole Miss Sports Roundup

HottyToddy.com is giving readers a roundup of all the commentary and information about the Ole Miss Rebels from various publications around the Web.

Readers will be able to check out the latest information in a single post every day throughout the year. Here at HottyToddy.com, we are doing all the leg work to find the information that people may want to hear about Ole Miss sports.

Today’s roundup features The Rebel Walk.com, 247Sports and Ole Miss Sports.

Rawlings and Liggins add versatility to Ole Miss offensive line

Photo by Kevin Bain/Ole Miss Communications

After losing four of its five starters from last season’s offensive line, Ole Miss must replace some talented big men up front. Fortunately, the 2016 Rebels can count on the versatility of sophomore Sean Rawlings and senior Jeremy Liggins, who have each shown the ability to play different positions.

Last season Ole Miss counted on Laremy Tunsil, Aaron Morris, Ben Still, Fahn Cooper and Justin Bell to handle the opposing defensive lines. Losing such experienced players creates a challenge for head coach Hugh Freeze and offensive line coach Matt Luke.

But the ability of linemen such as Rawlings and Liggins to play different positions on the line will definitely help Freeze and Luke as they work to find their starting unit.

Last season Rawlings made seven starts at right tackle, and by the end of the season he found himself playing some at center. Liggins has played tight end, quarterback and tackle.

Throughout spring practices this year, Rawlings played at center and tackle and made it clear he is ready to go any place the team needs him. “I’m going to be prepared for whatever happens,” said the Madison, Miss. native, whose left hand was in a cast at Saturday’s final practice of the spring. He was limited in spring workouts due to a fracture in the hand; however, he was able to participate Saturday.

Courtesy of Courtney Smith and the Rebel Walk.com

Giants among teams to host Ole Miss DE prospect

Robert Nkemdiche Photo by Joshua McCoy, Ole Miss Athletics

Robert Nkemdiche is a very popular man these days. One of the best defensive ends in the collegiate game, he’ll make personal visits with 16 NFL teams, with the New York Football Giants among them.

General manager Jerry Reese was in attendance at the Mississippi pro day this week, where he viewed Nkemdiche’s individual drills, along with those of wide receiver Laquon Treadwell and offensive tackle Laremy Tunsil.

Related: Who did the Giants scout at Ole Miss Pro Day?

Tunsil is a near consensus No. 1 overall pick and Treadwell, despite being ranked among the best at his position, is not believed to be in the Giants’ sights at No. 10 overall as they are still expected to choose a defensive player on Day 1.

Nkemdiche’s ability to shed blockers and penetrate backfields is rarely questioned, but his character has been.

Courtesy of James Parks and 247sports.com

Freeze and Walls to Compete in 2016 Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl Challenge

Photo courtesy of John Bowen

Ole Miss football coach Hugh Freeze and former tight end and College Football Hall of Famer Wesley Walls will represent the Rebels in the ninth annual Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl Challenge charity golf tournament next month. The duo will compete for a share of a $540,000 total purse, and the team’s winnings will be split between the Hugh and Jill Freeze Foundation and an endowed scholarship at Ole Miss.

The Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl Challenge features pairings that include a university head coach and a celebrity or former athlete from the same school competing in a scramble format against other university teams from around the country. In the past nine years, the event has provided $5.3 million in scholarship and charitable contributions.

Walls was enshrined in the College Football Hall of Fame in 2014. He was a first team All-American tight end and Academic All-American at Ole Miss in 1988 before enjoying a 15-year NFL career with the San Francisco 49ers, New Orleans Saints, Carolina Panthers and Green Bay Packers. He was a five-time Pro Bowl selection and three-time All-Pro choice at the highest level of football.

This year’s edition, set for May 1-3 at the Reynolds Lake Oconee resort outside Atlanta, is scheduled to feature 14 teams and top national coaches such as Freeze, Urban Meyer, Nick Saban, Dabo Swinney and many more. In special recognition of their coaching legacies, newly retired coaches Frank Beamer (Virginia Tech) and Steve Spurrier (South Carolina) will represent their former teams for the final time in this year’s event.

The field of competitors is scheduled to include three former winning teams including Paul Johnson and Jon Barry of Georgia Tech (2011, 2012, 2014, 2015), Spurrier and Sterling Sharpe from South Carolina (2008, 2009) and Beamer and Dell Curry of Virginia Tech (2007). Five of the participating coaches led their teams to New Year’s Six Bowl Games in the College Football Playoff last season, including Freeze, Saban and Swinney, the latter two facing off for the National Championship. The lineup includes three Heisman Trophy winners, four Dodd Trophy winners and two new teams from the University of Georgia and University of Houston.

Teams will be vying for the $100,000 first-place prize, with each team receiving a portion of the $540,000 purse. All charity payouts will be split equally between an endowed scholarship at each university and a charity of the coach’s choice.

The field of competitors for the featured event is projected to include:

The tournament will be broadcast on ESPNU in August and December. Specific dates will be announced this summer.

For more information, visit www.Chick-fil-APeachBowlChallenge.com.

Follow Ole Miss Football on Twitter at @OleMissFB, as well as Facebook and Instagram. For more information, visit www.OleMissSports.com.

Courtesy of Ole Miss Sports 

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