FAYETTEVILLE — After being together at Arkansas State for a few months in 2010, the second time around is working out well for Hugh Freeze and Bo Wallace at Ole Miss this season.
“I just think it’s crazy how it happened,” Wallace said. “But it’s been an everything happens for a reason kind of deal.”
The Rebels - with Freeze as their head coach and Wallace as their quarterback - play Arkansas on Saturday in Little Rock.
“I’d always wanted to play at Ole Miss,” Wallace said. “Luckily, Coach Freeze got the job and I ended up coming here.”
Freeze was Arkansas State’s offensive coordinator in 2010, when Wallace redshirted as a true freshman. Ryan Aplin became the Red Wolves’ starter and was chosen All-Sun Belt Conference quarterback in 2010 and 2011. Aplin is now a fifth-year senior.
“Ryan has done such a great job,” Wallace said. “If I was still there, I’d probably be sitting behind Ryan right now.”
Wallace transferred to East Mississippi Community College in Scooba, where he led the team to the NJCAA championship last season while passing for 4,604 yards and 53 touchdowns.
Freeze, hired at Ole Miss after leading Arkansas State to a 10-2 record and Sun Belt title in 2011, his one season as the Red Wolves’ coach, knew he needed a quarterback who could have an immediate impact after the Rebels finished 2-10. Wallace, he said, was the best available option.
“We knew the phenomenal year he’d had in junior college,” Freeze said. “So I immediately was thinking, ‘I’d like to coach him again and hopefully I can convince him to join us.’ ”
Wallace visited Ole Miss, Mississippi State, Baylor and Indiana. Texas showed interest, but backed off. Nebraska called wanting Wallace to visit, but by then he was ready to sign with the Rebels.
“I came to Ole Miss for a game when I was in the ninth grade and just fell in love with the place,” said Wallace, who is from Pulaski, Tenn. “Then when Coach Freeze got the job, I thought to myself, ‘Man, he’s just got to offer me.’ The day he did, it was exciting.”
Wallace, a third-year sophomore, has started every game for the Rebels (4-3, 1-2 SEC) and completed 107 of 168 passes (63.7 percent) for 1,371 yards and 9 touchdowns and thrown 8 interceptions.
He’s rushed 80 times for 225 yards and 5 touchdowns and caught a 25-yard touchdown pass.
“Bo’s season has been a little up and down, but here recently he’s played his best football for us,” Freeze said. “He’s taking care of the football and playing within the structure of the system and the game plan.
“I’m very pleased with his progress thus far, and hopefully he’ll continue to improve.”
Wallace completed a combined 37 of 56 passes for 531 yards in the past two games, a 30-27 loss to Texas A&M and 41-20 victory over Auburn, which ended the Rebels’ 16-game SEC losing streak. He accounted for 4 touchdowns against Auburn - 2 rushing, 1 passing and 1 receiving - and didn’t commit a turnover.
“I just think I’ve kind of learned now what works in the SEC and what doesn’t work in the SEC,” Wallace said. “Probably last year I forced some balls that I was lucky enough to get in there. In this league, you can’t do that.”
Freeze said the coaching staff was asking Wallace to carry too much of the offensive burden earlier in the season.
“Now we sit down two or three times a week and go over things and make sure he can verbatim give back to me what he thinks his progression is, and how he’s going to handle that and where his issues could be in protection and where he gets rid of the ball,” Freeze said. “If he’s doesn’t feel good with something, we’re very careful and we’ll get it out.”
Freeze said Wallace understands “he can’t be the gunslinger he was a year ago” in junior college.
“But I also don’t want to take that gun slinging mentality just totally away,” Wallace said. “I think that’s who I am as a quarterback, But I understand I have to be conservative when that’s what we need, because we’re just not good enough to be winning a lot of football games if we’re turning it over.”
Wallace said against Auburn when he couldn’t find an open receiver, he threw the ball away.
“Three weeks ago, I would have tried to force it, and something bad probably would have happened,” he said.
Arkansas State was the only Football Bowl Subdivision team to offer Wallace a scholarship after his senior season at Giles County High School, when he set a Tennessee state record with 4,195total yards and led his team to a 14-0 record and the Class 4A championship.
“I came from a small school, so I didn’t get a lot of looks from the recruiters,” he said. “It was a weird deal.”
Clay Helton was Arkansas State’s offensive coordinator when Wallace signed with the Red Wolves, but a few days later he was hired as Southern Cal’s quarterbacks coach.
Freeze, who left a job at San Jose State after three months in spring of 2010 to be Arkansas State’s offensive coordinator, laughed when asked to compare the Wallace he knew as a freshman to the quarterback he coaches at Ole Miss now.
“Well, he was an immature knucklehead, as a lot of us are when we come out of high school,” Freeze said.“He’s matured so much since his freshman year. ... I’m just real pleased with the way he’s preparing himself each week and the way he’s leading our football team.”
Wallace said he “would agree 100 percent” he was a knucklehead as a freshman.
“It’s hard being 17 years old in college and you telling me to go to an 8 a.m. class, you know what I mean?” Wallace said. “It was my first time being on my own.
“When I went to junior college, I knew I had a lot of maturing to do. I can remember things Coach Freeze told me in those little heart-to-hearts we had.
“I stood by those things he told me, and that helped me get back with him at Ole Miss.”
Ole Miss (4-3, 1-2 SEC)
DATE OPPONENT RESULT/TIME
Sept. 1 Central Arkansas W, 49-27
Sept. 8 Texas-El Paso W. 28-10
Sept. 15 Texas L, 66-31
Sept. 22 at Tulane W, 39-0
Sept. 29 at Alabama* L, 33-14
Oct. 6 Texas A&M* L, 30-27
Oct. 13 Auburn* W, 41-20
Oct. 27 at Arkansas* (LR) 11:21 a.m.
Nov. 3 at Georgia* TBA
Nov. 10 Vanderbilt* TBA
Nov. 17 at LSU* TBA
Nov. 24 Mississippi State* TBA
*SEC game
Sports, Pages 15 on 10/23/2012