WAYNESBORO – If Thursday night’s tenth annual Wayne County Rebel Club gathering is any indication, new Ole Miss Rebel head football coach Houston Nutt has already won over the Rebel faithful. The last four seasons are nothing but a fading view in the rear-view mirror of their vehicles. A packed house of 175 fans interrupted Nutt on at least three dozen occasions to give their approval to his informal but personal remarks about their football team.

If you meet Nutt, you will be impressed even if you are not a Rebel fan. He is an excellent people person who is a great communicator. His passion for what he does comes out very quickly. He has that look in his eye that draws you in. The look speaks outwardly that he cares about what he is selling. In this case, Ole Miss football was the sales pitch to these eager takers. When he spoke to the Rebels fans in attendance in a one-on-one meeting during the night, they all came away with these thoughts: Nutt is a genuine and a very likeable down-to-earth person with a special passion for what he does. In his hour long remarks, he also spoke of the role he wanted the fans to play in turning around the program.

Success is nothing new to the head coach at Ole Miss. Nutt has compiled a 111-70 record (.613) in 15 seasons as a head coach with stops at Murray State, Boise State, and Arkansas.

Some of the Rebel nation might have had mixed reactions on his hiring last November 27 since he was the enemy for ten years, but if they were present Thursday night, Nutt quickly dispelled those negative thoughts within minutes with his down home manner that fit in well in this football crazy town.

Anyone who follows SEC football knows that playing Arkansas in the latter part of the season was a chore under Nutt’s tenure. Eight bowl berths, three SEC Western Division titles, and winning at least seven games a year for ten years at Arkansas is impressive.

Nutt has those signature wins at Arkansas, but none could have been sweeter than winning at Baton Rouge in his last game as coach at Arkansas this past November. Nutt split ten games with Alabama and Auburn while coaching at Arkansas. He was 7-3 against Ole Miss and even more importantly was 9-1 against Mississippi State.

For Nutt, changing the negative attitude of the players has been his number one priority in Oxford. “When something goes bad it can be contagious. Those words ‘It’s your fault and not my fault’ is what I am trying to change,” said Nutt. “The next play is the most important play, but the player will have to be accountable for what he does,” added Nutt.

“Change is hard for some. It’s something new whether it is a new coach, a new system, or the new terminology,” said Nutt.

The attitude problem in Oxford, according to the former Lou Holtz assistant coach, was really negative. “We had to change their attitude, and to me that is changing the little things. It is about winning in everything you do. Some of the guys are used to losing on the field and in life, and I want to change that. Going to class, sitting up in your seat, being on time -- those are the little things we will work on. We are getting there,” added Nutt.

Nutt said fundamentals are being taught more on the field, and academics is being stressed more off the field even if it means late nights for him and his impressive coaching staff.

“We are in a hole academically, and we want to work hard to get it right,” said Nutt.

Nutt and his staff have addressed the academic problems with late night visits to apartments and dorm rooms. They have personally monitored class attendance and will keep trying to change the mind set of the players. Many of the players had not used the tutoring program set up by the Athletic program liked they should have, and Nutt has been addressing that personally.

“This is one of the best coaching staffs I have ever seen in terms of chemistry. We are on the same page, and I do not have a lot of yes men. They tell me what they think, and I appreciate that and want to hear their ideas,” said Nutt. All my coaches are excellent teachers and work very hard. You cannot fool players. We have a unity, and the players sense that,” said Nutt.

Nutt has a track record of being an excellent recruiter, and he said the biggest thing is to recruit players that are good students. “If we sign 28 players, we need to make sure they report in August. We do not need to have half of those players somewhere else in August because they cannot get in school,” said Nutt.

“I keep stressing that one word [attitude]. We are trying to change a mind set and attitude that will help us win because we will have success at Ole Miss,” concluded Nutt to the crowd who were already giving their high fives.