Crowe says Nutt will make Masoli's transfer work

[rebeljim]

Jack Crowe doesn't know Jeremiah Masoli. Not personally.

The Jacksonville State coach has "seen a lot of him," which makes sense because the Gamecocks open at Ole Miss and the former Oregon quarterback is getting closer to playing for the Rebels.

"He's an ideal Canadian (Football League) player," Crowe said. "He's a Condredge Holloway-type player."

For you kids, Holloway was a big-time, dual-threat quarterback from Huntsville who started and starred at Tennessee from 1972 to 1974 and later did the same in the CFL. If Masoli is anything like Holloway, look out, Kirby Smart and Ted Roof.

"I think he takes them up two notches from wherever you guys picked them," Crowe said of Masoli's potential impact on the Rebels.

Uh, the SEC Media Days poll voted Ole Miss last in the Western Division.

"They won't be last with Masoli," he said. "He's a player."

But that's really not the issue. Masoli's making national headlines because he got kicked off the Oregon team in June after two off-field incidents since January.

The Masoli family hired a PR firm, which started a website -- JeremiahMasoli.net -- to correct what it says are mistakes made about him.

The website says, "Jeremiah was not arrested in either incident. He was charged in the (January) burglary and pled guilty. He received a citation for marijuana possession and two traffic offenses (in June).

"He has resolved those citations."

Oh, well, if that's all.

In any case, Masoli-to-Mississippi has sparked a great debate, and Crowe's a great go-to guy on the subject for reasons beyond the schedule.

If he doesn't know Masoli, he does know Houston Nutt. The two coaches have a mutual respect from a friendship that dates back years. If Nutt goes to bat for Masoli, Crowe will step to the plate for Nutt.

"Houston will not sacrifice his football team for a player," Crowe said. "I don't care how good he is. He ain't made that way. If Houston says he can make it work, I'd be willing to bet he'll make it work."

Crowe speaks from personal experience, too. After LSU cut loose quarterback Ryan Perrilloux, Jacksonville State took him in. But not before the coach and his school, up to and including the Jax State president, did their due diligence. They talked to as many people as possible who knew the real Perrilloux. They conducted a series of interviews with Perrilloux himself that Crowe called "an interrogation."

One of the key people Crowe leaned on was Texas offensive coordinator Greg Davis. Crowe knew Davis because Davis had been Crowe's OC at Arkansas. Davis knew Perrilloux after recruiting him for two years.

"Greg knew more about him than anyone at LSU," Crowe said. "Greg said, 'Go get him.'"

It worked out for both parties, in part because the Gamecocks had an immediate need at quarterback, even more than Ole Miss does now, and Perrilloux arrived with what Crowe called "playing equity" from his time at LSU.

Jacksonville State went 16-6 the last two years, 12-3 in the Ohio Valley Conference. Perrilloux, who missed one game in those two seasons for disciplinary reasons, could graduate from Jax State in December "if he can get the right classes at the right time," Crowe said.

Why the time crunch? Perrilloux is expected to be the starting quarterback for the United Football League's Hartford Colonials.

"I'm very fond of Ryan," Crowe said. "My guess is, a year from now, he'll be on an NFL roster and he'll be the No. 2 quarterback."

If Ole Miss accepts Masoli, no one expects him to be the backup. Crowe expects Nutt to make it work because Crowe suspects Nutt will become Masoli's personal coach.

"There's some guys only the head coach can coach," Crowe said.

He said he did it with Perrilloux. He said Pat Dye did it with Bo Jackson at Auburn, but the way Dye did it sometimes drove Crowe, the offensive coordinator at the time, and Bud Casey, the running backs coach, nuts.

That's a matter of communication, Crowe said, and "Houston knows how to do those things."

"Some guys aren't good with superstar players," Crowe said. "I think Houston's at his best with superstars. ... He'll make the right call, and if there's a player's coach out there who can handle this really well, it's Houston."

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