ESPN College Football

Not that Ole Miss' Houston Nutt necessarily needs my advice, but he might want to tread lightly as he scrambles to find a quarterback.

The Rebels are down to just two scholarship quarterbacks after backup Raymond Cotton left the team this past Saturday. Cotton was granted his release and plans to transfer after apparently convincing himself that he wasn’t going to get much of a chance to play behind Nathan Stanley.

Now, all of a sudden, former Oregon quarterback Jeremiah Masoli is back on Nutt’s radar, about a week after Nutt said the Rebels had no interest in pursuing Masoli, who was kicked off Oregon’s team after two run-ins with the law, including a second-degree burglary charge.

Nutt has been down this road before. He took a chance on former Florida safety Jamar Hornsby last year, and it blew up in the Rebels’ faces.

Hornsby was booted from the Gators’ team after being charged with the fraudulent use of a dead Florida student’s credit card. She was killed in a motorcycle accident and just happened to be the girlfriend of Hornsby’s then-teammate, Joe Haden.

The Rebels took a chance and signed the troubled Hornsby after a stopover at junior college, and he was in trouble again not even a month later. He was indicted on a felony assault charge, and Nutt had no choice but to dismiss him from the team.

In Nutt’s defense, he’s not the first coach, nor will he be the last coach, to take a chance on a talented player with a troubled past.

But to do it two years in a row is tempting fate.

Make no mistake: Nutt has to have another quarterback. The Rebels’ backup right now is junior college transfer Randall Mackey, who wasn’t in Oxford for spring practice and was probably going to factor in as a specialty player this season.

An injury to Stanley could be disastrous, which is why Nutt is exploring every avenue.

It doesn’t sound as if Masoli is necessarily at the top of his list, but he’s certainly on the list.

Is he worth the risk?

Well, he only has one year of eligibility remaining, and you can’t help but wonder what effect the addition of Masoli would have on Ole Miss’ team chemistry.

I can’t imagine Masoli would come to Ole Miss for a season and be content with being the backup. Likewise, I can’t imagine Stanley and the guys on the team who’ve lined up behind him would be enamored with Masoli popping in and taking over the starting spot.

What’s more, this isn’t going to be a decision Nutt makes on his own. The Ole Miss administration, including the chancellor, would likely have to sign off on bringing Masoli aboard.

There’s the risk/reward factor here for everybody.

Where does it leave Nutt in the eyes of his bosses if he gets the clearance to bring Masoli aboard and he gets in trouble again?

Either way, it’s a tough call for Nutt, who already had to kick off one of his more promising younger players (receiver Patrick Patterson) earlier this year for violating team rules.

The other thing is that Nutt doesn’t have much time to look elsewhere, and the pickings are slim this close to the start of preseason practice.

Is gambling on Masoli worth it?

We’re going to find out.

Nathan Stanley says he was as surprised as anyone when he got the news in January that Jevan Snead was turning pro.

He knew Snead was thinking about it, but like most people, felt like Snead would return to Ole Miss for his senior season.

“I found out when I got back from Christmas break,” Stanley said. “The first thing that goes through your mind is that you didn’t really see it coming. Then you think, ‘Wow, he’s leaving. This is my shot, my chance. I’m going to have to buckle down.’ ”

Stanley, a 6-foot-5, 215-pound sophomore, did just that for much of the spring and established himself as the clear-cut starter at quarterback. Redshirt freshman Raymond Cotton also played well, particularly in the spring game, but he’s got a lingering shoulder problem.

The Rebels are hopeful that Cotton will be able to make it through the season before having surgery, but there are no guarantees.

For now, Stanley is the only sure thing, although junior college newcomer Randall Mackey is set to arrive this summer.

“The main thing for me this spring was getting out there and earning everyone’s trust,” Stanley said. “Everyone looks to the quarterback to be the leader of the offense, and I knew I had to step up and prove that I was that guy.”

Snead threw 20 touchdown passes last season, but he also threw 20 interceptions. And 15 of those interceptions came in SEC contests.

When the Rebels got in trouble last season, they turned around and handed the ball to Dexter McCluster. They won’t have that luxury next season with McCluster gone.

That means Stanley will have to walk that fine line of producing enough big plays to jump-start the Rebels’ offense, while not trying to do too much and turning the ball over.

He feels like his strength is decision-making.

“I want to be real level-headed and real calm,” Stanley said. “My job is to put the team in a position to be successful.”

Not only is McCluster gone, but so is leading receiver Shay Hodge. Stanley thinks the Rebels will spread it around more next season and be even more diverse on offense.

“Dexter will be hard to replace, but we have guys who played behind him last year like Jesse Grandy, who’s definitely a game-breaker,” Stanley said. “All he needs is the ball. He’s got the speed, got the hands. He’s got it all. I feel like he will sort of take Dexter’s place.”

Stanley said sophomore Melvin Harris and redshirt freshman Ja-Mes Logan also made big strides this spring, and that junior running back Brandon Bolden looked like his old self now that he’s about 10 pounds lighter.

Senior receivers Markeith Summers and Lionel Breaux helped set the tone for the offense with their consistent play, and the most pleasant surprise was junior running back Enrique Davis, who looked like it was finally clicking for him.

“He makes us a whole different offense,” Stanley said. “He really seemed to perfect his craft. He’s big and fast and is really going to help us out.”

Stanley will take all of the options he can get on offense in 2010. The more, the better.

“We’ll all lean on each other,” Stanley said. “It’s going to take more than just one guy anyway, but I feel like we’re on the right track and have the time to get there.”