Ole Miss coach Hugh Freeze says he’s had success extending second chances previously in his coaching career, and he’s confident that Anthony Alford’s transfer will work out for both the player and Ole Miss.
“I still think in Anthony’s case it’s different. He’s going to be exonerated. He didn’t do some of the things he was originally charged to have done,” Freeze said.
Freeze developed a relationship with Alford while trying to recruit him to Ole Miss and has confidence in the player’s character.
“He’s a good, solid kid. He’s got some challenges,” Freeze said.
Alford, a highly decorated football and baseball player at Petal before signing with Southern Miss in 2012, announced he was leaving Hattiesburg after his arrest following a campus fight in which he was charged with aggravated assault. Alford’s attorney, Jim Dukes Sr. of Hattiesburg, has not returned calls seeking comment.
Alford will sit out the 2013 season under NCAA transfer rules. Freeze sees him more as in the wildcat mode than as a regular quarterback and compared him to Randall Mackey.
“I have been successful in giving second chances everywhere I’ve been,” Freeze said. “If mistakes have been made and you can convince me that you have enough character and that you do want to change, I feel like I can surround you with a group of people who believe in the process. I am all for giving a second chance.”
Denham Springs, La., native, Mississippian since 1989 with a stop in Meridian before arriving in Tupelo. Daily Journal beat writer since 1996, covering Ole Miss since 2002. Proud Northeast Louisiana alum. Follow me on Twitter @parrishalford and listen to Kory Keys and myself daily with The Ole Miss Beat on Rebel Sports Radio.
