OXFORD – Redshirt freshman Nathan Stanley may have taken a step forward in the battle for No. 2 quarterback on Saturday.

There is no quarterback controversy at Ole Miss this spring. Jevan Snead is the clear starter, but the race for his backup is unsettled with Stanley and senior Billy Tapp the competitors.

The top three quarterbacks all threw at least one touchdown passes in the second major scrimmage of the spring, though Stanley may have had a better day than Tapp head to head.

“We’ll have to look at the film, but coming off the field I like Nathan Stanley,” coach Houston Nutt said.

Stanley was 5-for-9 for 84 yards with a touchdown and an interception. Tapp was 5-for-10 for 45 yards with a touchdown, and Snead was 8-for-14 for 102 yards, two touchdowns and an interception.

Nutt went into the scrimmage wanting to give Stanley a chance with the first-team offense, and he responded with a 13-yard TD pass to Dexter McCluster. Tapp threw a 10-yard TD to Richie Contartesi.

“Nathan has really improved. He’s got a real chance,” Nutt said. “Billy is so intelligent. I’m glad he’s on our team, because I think he can get us out of any situation. He knows the checks. Jevan continues to get better with his decisions, and I want him to get better.”

Nutt said walk-on QB Clayton Moore has shown improvement also.

Lionel Breaux had the day’s first touchdown, a 38-yard run on a reverse to cap a 99-yard mark with the opening drive.

When the offense had its back to the goal the second time, the drive ended quickly – and with a Cotton Bowl-like highlight – when senior outside linebacker Patrick Trahan sped through the line and sacked Stanley for a safety. He did the same thing to Texas Tech quarterback Graham Harrell last January.

Freshman Andre Sterling led all runners with 53 yards on 11 carries.

Mullen sees improvement in second big scrimmage

STARKVILLE – Head football coach Dan Mullen put his team through its second full-scale scrimmage here on Saturday, and the Bulldogs continued to show overall improvement.

“We executed some things offensively,” Mullen said. “The offense won today, but both sides played hard.”

The first offense got off to a slow start as the scrimmage began with open field work, going three-and-out on its first possession, and ending with a Chris White interception of Tyson Lee on the second drive.

Lee would later rally the first unit with a 40-yard drive capped by an Anthony Dixon 13-yard touchdown and a 15, play 98-yard scoring drive that saw Dixon throw a 1-yard pass to Leon Berry.

“We had a great 98-yard drive there by the offense,” Mullen said. “But that type of thing should never happen to our defense.”

The Bulldogs return to the practice fields on Tuesday afternoon.

Daily Journal, school reports