It couldn't get any worse.
When you go 2-10 overall and 0-8 in the SEC, as Ole Miss did in 2011, there is no place to look but up. And with a new coaching staff and a lot of enthusiasm coming out of the spring, the Rebels are showing glimmers of hope and even a tinge of optimism.
"I saw effort," said linebacker Mike Marry of the Ole Miss Spring experience, the first under head coach Hugh Freeze. "Whether it was a two-yard run or a 50-yard pass down the field we all showed effort in running to the ball. We are also closer at teammates. You work harder, because you care about the guy lining up next to you."
They also care about impressing Freeze, who has already raised a few eyebrows in the way he's running things in Oxford. Heralded as an offensive genius in the mold of Mike Leach or Gus Malzahn, Freeze didn't give away much in the spring, especially when it came to opening up new schemes and philosophies.
But he did put everyone on notice. To play at Ole Miss, everyone needs to step up their games.
In the short time he has been in Oxford, Freeze and his staff have taken an aggressive approach to recruiting, making over 200 verbal offers to recruits all over the country for 2013. It is a ridiculous number, overkill, and a monumental waste of time. No kid from California is coming to Oxford, Miss. to play on a team that was 107th overall in passing, 86th overall in rushing and an easy win for conference powerhouses like Alabama and LSU.
Freeze knows this. He is a smart, if not often overly enthusiastic man. Plus, he only has between 25 and 30 spots to fill, so he is only looking for answers from ten percent of the kids who have been offered roles. Most of those who accept will come from Mississippi and Memphis, maybe a few from Alabama and Louisiana, and occasionally one or two from Arkansas and Missouri, but that's about it.
So, what is Freeze thinking by blanketing the country with so many offers?
He's aware that he needs to send a message to his current players, and to the fans and alumni at Ole Miss and the rest of the SEC.
And that message is: Ole Miss is serious about getting quality players, and Freeze is not afraid to turn over every rock between Oxford and Oshkosh to find them.
"You have to recruit nationally," Freeze said recently to the Clarion-Ledger. "I think you can do that at Ole Miss, but in order to do that you've got to get into the game with them.
"I think we're in the top-five for 10 or so kids that are national guys. Now what does top-five mean? Probably nothing in and of itself, other than we got a shot at getting a trip. If we get a trip, we've got a chance. We have to do well here locally, but certainly if you can get a guy that can impact your program you really don't care where he comes from."
Although those top-10 players certainly care where they are going, and Freeze has a tough sell to get them to commit to Oxford.
Ole Miss plays Alabama, Texas A&M, Auburn, Arkansas, Georgia, Vanderbilt and LSU in an eight-week stretch from Sept. 29 through Nov. 17. Winning any of those would be considered a mild miracle given the current state of the program.
But, you can't make lemonade without lemons, and Freeze is shaking every citrus tree he can find in search of a few ripe prospects.
It isn't the only thing he'll need to turn around if he plans to turn the Rebels around.
There is a still a long road between Hugh Freeze and a winning season at Ole Miss. But one thing is certainly, the new head coach is getting the word out.
At the very least, he will have a lot of high school prospects watching Rebels football this year.
