Ole Miss got plenty of recognition for its outstanding recruiting class in 2013. The Rebels signed 5-star and 4-star recruits by the fistful and it is paying off with a 3-0 start.
Hugh Freeze landed three 5-star signees and nine 4-star players. Defensive Robert Nkemdiche was considered the overall top recruit in the country. The Rebels got him and 5-star wide receiver Laquon Treadwell and offensive lineman Laremy Tunsil. Those signings set off a wave of joyous expectations in Oxford.
One member of that signing class that was overlooked was a 3-star tight end from Hillgrove High School in Powder Springs, Ga., by the name of Evan Engram.
Engram was the 22nd-ranked tight end in the nation by Scout.com and was rated as the No. 27 tight end in the country by ESPN.com after a senior season that saw him catch 40 passes for 975 yards and 10 touchdowns. He was first-team All-State by the Georgia Sportswriters Association and the Associated Press. He capped the year by catching two touchdown passes in the Cobb County All-Star Senior Bowl.
But Engram is sure making a name for himself three games into his collegiate career. He made an immediate impression in his first game when he caught five passes for 11 yards in the season opener at Vanderbilt. He caught his first touchdown in the Southeast Missouri game when he was on the receiving end of a 64-yard touchdown pass from Bo Wallace.
“It was a play that worked well against them last week, and luckily our guy is athletic enough to take it to the house,” said Wallace. “To have him come in as a true freshman and play the way he has is great, and we’re really grateful for him.”
“He’s getting better and better as we determine what we can do with him,” said Freeze. “He didn’t get a lot of snaps tonight, but I thought he had a good night when he was in there.”
In the Rebels’ big win over Texas last Saturday, Engram caught four more passes. He hooked up with Wallace on a 17-yard touchdown pass in the second half when the Rebels outscored the Longhorns 27-0 on the way to the ultimate 44-23 win that kept Ole Miss perfect on the season.
Engram’s place with the Rebels is unique. He is not one of the top players that opposing teams will concentrate on, yet he has been a steady cog in the offense. Engram is tied for 13th in the Southeastern Conference with 11 catches for 175 yards and two touchdowns. He is averaging 58.3 receiving yards per game. Engram’s contributions have helped the Rebels to the top of the SEC’s total offense list (490 yards per game).
There is another side of Engram’s game that most fans would not notice unless they are looking for the finer points of being a receiver — his blocking.
“The blocking of our receivers, I have never coached a game where it was any better. Ever. It was absolute,” said Freeze after the Texas game. “Ja-mes (Logan), Donte (Moncrief), Laquon (Treadwell) and Evan (Engram) blocked the perimeter as well as I’ve ever seen. That’s why the perimeter runs were so successful for Jeff (Scott).”
Freeze said the Ole Miss coaches knew they had a god one when they recruited Engram. But even they did not know what a gem they had in the Georgia native.
“Evan Engram has been great. We knew he was talented. We knew he was good when we evaluated him in camp, but he has probably surpassed our expectations a bit,” Freeze said. “They’ve (Ole Miss freshmen) had to play a lot of snaps.”
Ole Miss will not play this week, which will give them extra time to bask in the afterglow of the Texas win, which might not be a good thing for most teams. But Freeze doesn’t think it will be a problem for this team.
“They’re excited and feel good about the progress we’re making,” the Rebels coach said. “I don’t know that this week helps or hurts in this regard. We’re pretty straight with them. We don’t really think about having to stay grounded too much. We just want them to be confident. At the same time, they need to understand that that was just one game. They hear that from us all the time. That’s the approach our coaches take.
“On Sundays, we have a little deal we do where we put the game in the trash and it’s over. Whether it was good or bad, and no matter what happened. Our kids won’t get the luxury of talking about how many good things they did with us in the last game. Our attention now will turn to improving on the things we’re not doing really well. Hopefully that will keep them grounded.”
The challenges just keep coming for Ole Miss. Up next is a trip to Tuscaloosa to face top-ranked Alabama. The Crimson Tide’s defense has some lost prestige to regain after Texas A&M put up 42 points and 628 yards, and you can bet the Alabama defense will keep an eye on Even Engram.