courtesy SEC Digital Network
EDITOR’S NOTE: Counting down to the first week of Ole Miss football practice the week of August 15, HottyToddy.com’s own Collin Brister, former sports editor of the Daily Mississippian, will bring you exclusive “5 at 5” analyses of either A) the opponents Ole Miss will be facing this season or B) some background on Ole Miss’ players at each position. It’s being called “5 at 5” because each original piece will give you 5 key things to know, and we will post these stories at 5 p.m. every Monday-Friday
NUMBER 1:
Field Goal Kicker
Gary Wunderlilch returns for his junior year as the Ole Miss kicker.
Wunderlich was the former number one kicker in the nation in 2014 according to Rivals.com. Wunderlich boasts a strong leg and is extremely accurate. During his career, the Tennessee native is 25 of 33 and is making 83 percent of his field goals from inside 40 yards. Wunderlich could become a weapon for a stacked offense as his leg allows a chance to connect with field goals from 55 yards.
NUMBER 2:
Punting
Will Gleeson returns for his third year as the Ole Miss punter.
Gleeson is from Australia and boasts and punts the ball rugby style. While Gleeson doesn’t possess the strongest leg, he has a pinpoint accuracy and has downed 35 of his 101 punts as a Rebel inside the 20-yard line. He has a long of 70 yards during his career.
One of his more memorable punts came against Alabama in 2014 as the then redshirt freshman pinned the Crimson Tide at the one-yard line. The Rebels forced a Crimson Tide three-and-out and scored on the next possession to tie the game at 17. We all know what happened next.
Gary Wunderlich also punts for the Rebels when they need more distance on punts.
NUMBER 3:
Kick Off Specialist
Nathan Noble will return for his senior year as the kick-off-specialist. Noble kicked off 94 times last year and 40 of them resulted in touchbacks. Noble only kicked one kickoff out of bounds last season, allowing the Rebels to either make a play on the kick-off or forcing teams to start at their own 25-yard line 75 yards away from pay dirt.
NUMBER 4:
Punt Returners
Ole Miss returns Markell Pack and Carlos Davis, both who have returned punts over the past two seasons.
Davis started off last season as the punt returner but subsided to Collins Moore as the junior had muff issues. Pack was the punt returner during the 2014 season but relinquished those duties to Davis after the season.
The Rebels also have Tony Bridges and Jalen Julius on the roster who are available to return punts. Bridges returned punts at Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College before his time in Oxford. Julius is a freak athlete and could be impressive in the return game.
NUMBER 5:
Long Snapper
Will Few returns for his senior year at the long snapper position. Few had no mishaps for the Rebels last season, and recovered a fumble against Texas A&M, while recording a tackle against Auburn.
Collin Brister is a staff writer for HottyToddy.com. He can be reached at collin.brister@hottytoddy.com.
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