In early November of 2012, a historic draft class seemed to be slipping through Hugh Freeze’s hands. The first-year Ole Miss head coach was coming off a 37-10 thumping from Georgia that dropped his team to 5-4. With tough conference tests against Vandy (this was when the ‘Dores were a nine-win team under James Franklin), LSU and Mississippi State still on the schedule, the Rebels’ chances at bowl eligibility were flickering.
Freeze needed the momentum. His living room sermonizing about leading the Ole Miss program out of the wilderness had attracted the attention of some of the top recruits in the country, but he needed a successful season to provide proof of concept.