As Shay Hodge caught a few touchdown passes during practice at palatial Cowboys Stadium, which is usually home to NFL games, the Ole Miss receiver admitted he had a few visions of making the same plays at the professional level.
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?You just can?t help it,? Hodge said. ?I think everybody let their mind wander a few times. It?s a player?s dream.?
And for Hodge and fellow playmaker Dexter McCluster, there?s little doubt that both seniors will get some sort of opportunity at the NFL level in the coming months. Both have accepted an invitation to play in the Senior Bowl, which is a haven for professional prospects.
But one more time at Cowboys Stadium, two of the greatest playmakers to ever come through Oxford will make their final appearance in an Ole Miss uniform as the Rebels face No. 21 Oklahoma State at 1 p.m. today in the 74th AT&T Cotton Bowl.
The game will be televised on Fox.
?It?s going to be one more chance to go out there and give it everything I have,? McCluster said. ?That?s all you can ask.?
The statistics alone have been amazing.
Hodge has caught 63 passes for 1,023 yards and eight touchdowns. He?s the first 1,000-yard receiver in school history and is the Southeastern Conference?s active career leader with 2,534 receiving yards.
Then there?s McCluster, who despite playing running back for only half the season has rushed for 985 yards and six touchdowns. He?s also caught 39 passes for 475 yards and three touchdowns. His 3,694 career all-purpose yards ranks second in the Ole Miss history.
But numbers can?t capture just how much Ole Miss has relied on the duo.
Not only are they the two best playmakers on the field, they?re probably the two best students of the game off of it.
All year long, McCluster has been asked to be a running back, receiver and occasionally the quarterback. For many, it would have been an impossible task.
But McCluster barely blinked. Eluding would-be tacklers and digesting prodigious amounts of the playbook are equally easy for 5-foot-9, 170-pound star.?Physically, he?s a pure playmaker,? UM offensive coordinator Kent Austin. ?That?s just what he does. But he?s a coach?s dream because he?s so easy to coach. He can take a concept off the whiteboard in a meeting the very first time, see it visually and then go out and execute it. In one or two reps he?s got it. There?s not many guys like that.?
When the coaches moved McCluster to running back, that meant Hodge was the only experienced receiver on the field. Opposing teams noticed immediately and Hodge was often subject to double teams and pass coverages designed just to stop him.
But Hodge?s numbers never suffered, even though he might not be quite as blessed with the same ridiculous physical tools as McCluster.
?That?s because Shay is such a football fanatic,? McCluster said. ?He watches the NFL all the time, but not for the game. He watches just to see what the receivers do. How they use their hands to get off the line of scrimmage and how they get open downfield. Then he takes the things he likes and uses them in games.?
Hodge and McCluster were both afterthoughts in former coach Ed Orgeron?s star-studded 2006 recruiting class. And it?s true that the group has been one of the most productive in Ole Miss history ? including linebacker Jonathan Cornell, running back Cordera Eason, defensive end Greg Hardy, offensive lineman John Jerry, defensive end Kentrell Lockett, defensive end Marcus Tillman, linebacker Allen Walker and defensive tackle Jerrell Powe ? all of whom had at least four stars out of a five-star scale according to Rivals.com.
Hodge was supposed to be too slow and McCluster was too fragile. But the pair of 3-star recruits are the ones who now find their names splashed all over the Ole Miss record books.
Even Hodge is a little surprised.
?I never saw this coming ? being THE guy on the team at receiver,? Hodge said. ?A lot of guys come in rated higher than you. Every year people talk about bringing in guys that are going to take your spot from you. I wasn?t supposed to be fast, but every year I grew as a player and just made myself better.
?In the end, I think I made myself into a pretty good player.?
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?You just can?t help it,? Hodge said. ?I think everybody let their mind wander a few times. It?s a player?s dream.?
And for Hodge and fellow playmaker Dexter McCluster, there?s little doubt that both seniors will get some sort of opportunity at the NFL level in the coming months. Both have accepted an invitation to play in the Senior Bowl, which is a haven for professional prospects.
But one more time at Cowboys Stadium, two of the greatest playmakers to ever come through Oxford will make their final appearance in an Ole Miss uniform as the Rebels face No. 21 Oklahoma State at 1 p.m. today in the 74th AT&T Cotton Bowl.
The game will be televised on Fox.
?It?s going to be one more chance to go out there and give it everything I have,? McCluster said. ?That?s all you can ask.?
The statistics alone have been amazing.
Hodge has caught 63 passes for 1,023 yards and eight touchdowns. He?s the first 1,000-yard receiver in school history and is the Southeastern Conference?s active career leader with 2,534 receiving yards.
Then there?s McCluster, who despite playing running back for only half the season has rushed for 985 yards and six touchdowns. He?s also caught 39 passes for 475 yards and three touchdowns. His 3,694 career all-purpose yards ranks second in the Ole Miss history.
But numbers can?t capture just how much Ole Miss has relied on the duo.
Not only are they the two best playmakers on the field, they?re probably the two best students of the game off of it.
All year long, McCluster has been asked to be a running back, receiver and occasionally the quarterback. For many, it would have been an impossible task.
But McCluster barely blinked. Eluding would-be tacklers and digesting prodigious amounts of the playbook are equally easy for 5-foot-9, 170-pound star.?Physically, he?s a pure playmaker,? UM offensive coordinator Kent Austin. ?That?s just what he does. But he?s a coach?s dream because he?s so easy to coach. He can take a concept off the whiteboard in a meeting the very first time, see it visually and then go out and execute it. In one or two reps he?s got it. There?s not many guys like that.?
When the coaches moved McCluster to running back, that meant Hodge was the only experienced receiver on the field. Opposing teams noticed immediately and Hodge was often subject to double teams and pass coverages designed just to stop him.
But Hodge?s numbers never suffered, even though he might not be quite as blessed with the same ridiculous physical tools as McCluster.
?That?s because Shay is such a football fanatic,? McCluster said. ?He watches the NFL all the time, but not for the game. He watches just to see what the receivers do. How they use their hands to get off the line of scrimmage and how they get open downfield. Then he takes the things he likes and uses them in games.?
Hodge and McCluster were both afterthoughts in former coach Ed Orgeron?s star-studded 2006 recruiting class. And it?s true that the group has been one of the most productive in Ole Miss history ? including linebacker Jonathan Cornell, running back Cordera Eason, defensive end Greg Hardy, offensive lineman John Jerry, defensive end Kentrell Lockett, defensive end Marcus Tillman, linebacker Allen Walker and defensive tackle Jerrell Powe ? all of whom had at least four stars out of a five-star scale according to Rivals.com.
Hodge was supposed to be too slow and McCluster was too fragile. But the pair of 3-star recruits are the ones who now find their names splashed all over the Ole Miss record books.
Even Hodge is a little surprised.
?I never saw this coming ? being THE guy on the team at receiver,? Hodge said. ?A lot of guys come in rated higher than you. Every year people talk about bringing in guys that are going to take your spot from you. I wasn?t supposed to be fast, but every year I grew as a player and just made myself better.
?In the end, I think I made myself into a pretty good player.?
