Bolden set for breakout season

Last year, Ole Miss football fans were fortunate to witness the sensational play of running back Dexter McCluster — the first player in Southeastern Conference history to post 1,000 yards rushing and 500 yards receiving in the same season.  

Now that McCluster is playing in the National Football League with the Kansas City Chiefs, junior running back Brandon Bolden again finds himself as the starter in the Ole Miss backfield. 

For Bolden, it’s a return to the role he had at the beginning of 2009. He was forced to relinquish the starting job to the playmaking McCluster last year after the Rebels’ offense struggled. 

Bolden said McCluster gave him a bit of advice.

“Dexter just said for me to go out this season and play my game,” Bolden said.

The Baton Rouge native took steps in the offseason to regain the productivity he had as a true freshman. Bolden’s yards per carry dropped from an impressive 5.5 YPC as a freshman to 4.8 YPC as a junior. 

“I just really tried to get my speed back,” Bolden said. “I tried to lose some weight and I was able to get my speed back. I worked on some cuts, worked on getting stronger and just getting better overall as a player.”

There were bright spots for Bolden in 2009. He was the  Rebels’ second-leading rusher from last year, accumulating 614 yards and scoring four touchdowns as the Rebels became back-to-back Cotton Bowl champions. 

Coach Houston Nutt will need him to perform like he did during last year’s 16-10 loss at South Carolina when he rushed for a career-high 105 yards on only 13 carries. 

“I just want to be a better team player this year,” Bolden said. “There is no pressure on me at all.”

While Bolden may be the starter, there is a bevy of other running backs vying for carries. 

Former blue-chip recruit Enrique Davis, a junior, seems to finally be living up to the hype, and sophomore Rodney Scott combines speed and power. The dark horse is true freshman Jeff Scott (no relation to Rodney), who possesses blazing speed.  

“As a group, everyone is saying that we can do the same thing he (Dexter) did,” Bolden said. “We might not be as fast as Dex but we can make just as good of cuts and just as long of runs. We just have to go out there and do it.”

The Ole Miss running back corps doesn’t have to look far for inspiration. The Rebels’ SEC West rivals, the Alabama Crimson Tide, has two of the nation’s best running backs in Mark Ingram, last year’s Heisman winner, and sophomore Trent Richardson. 

Bolden has paid attention to the duo. 

“I’ve watched them both play a couple times,” Bolden said. “We actually run kind of a similar offense to theirs. We watch some of the same plays they run.” 

While the Rebels’ runners aren’t Ingram or Richardson, they are hoping for a productive year.