Bo Wallace is one of the top returning QBs in the SEC. (Don McPeak-USA TODAY Sports)
Since achieving near-celebrity status on the Ole Miss campus, it has been a fun ride for senior quarterback Bo Wallace.
Wallace is a two-time bowl game Most Valuable Player winner and he ranks second in Ole Miss history with 7,085 yards in total offense, second with 6,340 yards passing, first in completion percentage (64.3 mark) and passing efficiency (140.2 ranking). He’s had seven games of at least 300 yards passing and is fourth with 40 career touchdown passes.
With that impressive resume you might think that Wallace could rest on his laurels, but that’s not the case for the 6-foot-4, 217-pounder from Pulaski, TN. There are still things he wants to accomplish before his Rebel career is over and neither has to do with his standing among former great Ole Miss QBs.
While the list of former Rebels’ signal-callers includes names like Archie and Eli Manning, John Fourcade, Kent Austin and Jake Gibbs, when it is all said, Wallace might own all the school’s career passing records by the time he leaves.
He spent the offseason working out with a quarterback guru in hopes of getting even better and achieving his ultimate goals.
“I went to go see Tom House in LA (Los Angeles). He’s a mechanics guru that has worked with a lot of guys that have had shoulder injuries. I went out there just to get some velocity back and things like that. I feel like it’s one of the best decisions I’ve made. ”
House, an eight-year Major League veteran pitcher whose previous claim to fame was catching Hank Aaron’s 715th career home run ball in the Atlanta bullpen, has worked with quarterbacks such as Drew Brees, Tom Brady, Carson Palmer, Matt Cassel, Alex Smith and Tim Tebow in helping refine their mechanics. Wallace is hoping that House will help him prepare for what he hopes will be a memorable senior season.
Wallace knows that very few people expect the Rebels to make a run at the SEC West title and to play for the SEC championship. But the term “dark horse” is being tossed around about the 2014 Rebels, and that doesn’t bother the senior quarterback. In fact it motivates him.
“We don’t feel any pressure at all,” he said. “We are confident that we can get late into games with those teams. That is our goal to get late into the fourth quarter and see what happens. Like I said, we are a dark horse and we know that, and we are working every day to try and win an SEC Championship.”
After playing second fiddle to other more well-known quarterbacks in the SEC last seson, Wallace is the most experienced returner behind center in the conference.
“It’s a little weird,” Wallace said. “I can remember being a sophomore fighting for the job and now my senior year and now I am the experienced one. I’m blessed being able to play 26 games—or whatever it is—been able to start. I don’t think there are a lot of things that can be thrown at me that I haven’t seen.
“The tough thing is playing on the road in this conference and as a leader you have to be sure the younger players are ready.”
Coach Hugh Freeze likes where Wallace is as a leader.
“I think (Bo) Wallace has matured quite nicely,” Freeze said. “I love the frame of mind he is in right now in leading us.
“I do think standing here today you would rather be in my shoes with a (Bo) Wallace coming back than without. Having said that there are a lot of people talking about the lack of returning quarterbacks and those things.
“But standing here last year no one talked about Nick Marshall either. Two years ago, before (Johnny) Manziel’s first year, nobody really talked about him,” said Freeze. “There’s no doubt you feel like it might make it a bit wide open, but there will be somebody that emerges from one of the programs in our conference that has a breakout year at that position, I’m quite sure of it.”
Wallace has started all 26 games of his Ole Miss career and has completed 518 of 805 pass attempts for 6,340 yards and 40 touchdowns. Starting his final season he has two goals: one is to win the SEC championship and the other is to play one more time in Baton Rouge. He’s looking forward to that game almost more than any other.
“No doubt it’s LSU,” he said. “My sophomore year we got beat late in the game, but it was one of the most fun times I’ve had playing football and it’s a fun atmosphere to play in, especially being a rivalry game. So I’m very excited to play LSU.”
He will reach that goal on October 25th. The other goal— an SEC Championship —will be a little harder to come by. But in the wild Southeastern Conference, who knows what might happen?
A year ago nobody gave Auburn a chance to win the SEC and the Tigers shocked everyone and did so. Could Ole Miss be the team that takes the league by storm this season? Stay tuned to find out.
