"The trip blew us away. I guess that is the best way I can
describe it," added Nathan's father, Nate Creer. "We had no idea it
was going to be like that. When you say Mississippi, you are like, oh. We thought
it would be some small little town and not much to offer, but boy were we wrong.
This is the furthest South we have ever been. We had been to Memphis before, but
that is as far South as our family has ever been."
Nathan grew close
to the Ole Miss staff when Coach Nutt was at Arkansas.
"We went down
to their camp last summer and he met Coaches Nutt, Vaughn and all of those guys.
He was very impressed. They offered him three days later while they were at Arkansas,
and we have been talking ever since. Coach Nutt has been really good to us so
we wanted to check his new school out. To say we were impressed with Ole Miss
is an understatement."
What stood out about the University of Mississippi?
"It
has everything we could want and even more. We had no idea Oxford and Ole Miss
was such a fabulous place. Their staff is just so impressive, from Coach Nutt
on down to Coach Vaughn to their QB coach, Kent Austin. But more importantly,
we got to meet their Chancellor. Dr. Khayat is one of the more impressive people
I have ever met. He sat down and answered every question we had. Out of all of
our visits, we have never met the President. That was very impressive of Ole Miss
to introduce us to him."
What new did the Scheelhaase's learn about
Ole Miss during the trip?
"We knew they had a great staff from Arkansas,
but we did not know how beautiful the university is, or how impressive their academic
programs are, and their facilities are fabulous. The stadium is top notch. The
workout center is awesome, and the Fed Ex Center for student learning is unbelievable.
They have the total package over there at Ole Miss. And I am no stranger to campuses
from across the country. I played for the University of Iowa and have visited
many/many campuses through my recruitment, playing at different stadiums, and
now going through the recruiting process with Nathan. I can honestly tell you
that Ole Miss can stand toe to toe with anyone in the country. It is just a picturesque
place."
What all did Nathan Scheelhaase and his father do while they
were on their trip?
"We arrived in Oxford Monday night around 9:30
pm. We got a good night's sleep and woke up and they had an itinerary printed
out for us. We toured the campus at 9:00 am and then we met Dr. Mullins (Vice
Chancellor) at 10:00 am. After meeting with Dr. Mullins, we had a tour of the
Fed Ex building at 11:45 am. We went to the weight room for a presentation with
their strength coach, Don Decker. We toured the equipment and training room around
1:30 and then we went into their locker room. After touring all of the athletic
facilities, we met with Coach Nutt at 2:00 pm for about two hours. Then after
we left that meeting, we met with Chancellor Kyahat for over an hour."
Nathan
and his father had a couple of questions for Coach Nutt.
"We wanted
to know if they were recruiting Nathan as a QB, which we found out to be true.
And we wanted to know the style of offense they are going to run. They are going
to run something similar to the one that they used at Arkansas so they can use
Nathan's legs and arm. They call it the Wild Rebel. It was called the Wild Hawg
at Arkansas. They put Darren McFadden in there at Arkansas, but they need somebody
who can run and throw, so they do not have to substitute a player when they want
to run the ball. That is what Nathan brings to the table, a duel threat QB. They
think Nathan can be the next Matt Jones for their offense."
What did
the Scheelhaase's learn from the QB coach, Kent Austin?
"Their QB
coach knew his stuff," added Nathan Scheelhaase. "I was very impressed
with how knowledgeable he was. He knew his X's and O's. We actually met with him
for over two hours. We just went over a lot of X's and O's. They used Darren McFadden
when they were at Arkansas when they mostly wanted to run the ball. This year
they are using Dexter McCluster to fill in for his spot. But he said if I go there,
then they will not have to substitute in their Wild Rebel set. I will give them
another added dimension for their offense. He just basically let me know how important
I was for the future of their offense."
What were Nathan's thoughts
on Ole Miss in general?
"It was definitely better than I anticipated.
I really did not know what to expect. You hear this and that about this and that
school but you never know what is the truth until you see it for yourself, and
Ole Miss was nothing like it had been described to me. Coach Nutt told me that
reality is bigger than perception and that is definitely true."
What
stood out the most?
"I would say obviously the coaching staff. I have
been real close to them since they were at Arkansas and rekindling my relationship
with them was the best part. But I was also thoroughly impressed with their facilities.
They are not lacking anywhere, from the practice facilities, on down to the stadium,
and academic facilities. That is definitely important for any student athlete.
And lastly, I was really impressed with their QB coach. Like I said before, he
is just so knowledgeable about the game and I like the plans they have in store
for me. And lastly, I did not know that Ole Miss had as much tradition as they
have. You try to eliminate everything you hear from other people, but it is natural
to let some of that sink in. When I first stepped foot on their campus, I just
looked at my dad and said can you believe this. It is an awesome campus and town.
It definitely gave me a new outlook on Ole Miss. I really think they are going
to be a strong contender, nationally, now that Coach Nutt is there. How could
they not?"
Nathan's father is using his past experience to help his
son out during the recruiting process.
"I am telling him to make sure
it is a place were you want to be," added Nate Creer. "You have to get
along with the coaches, obviously, and you have to look at the academic side of
the coin. But most importantly, you can never rush your decision. Up until now,
this will be the most important decision in Nathan's life, and we are not going
to let anyone rush our decision. Coach Nutt told us that he will wait as long
as we need to make a decision. There was no pressure and that is just how we like
it."
Has there been a pecking order established?
"As
of June 1st, everybody is equal. This is our first visit and we are not leaning
towards anyone. The door is wide open and will remain that way for the next three
weeks."
Which colleges will receive a visit from Nate's son during
the next three weeks?
"We are going to 1 and 2 Day camps over the
next three weeks to Oklahoma, Nebraska, Missouri, Nebraska, Colorado, Iowa, Illinois,
Stanford, South Florida, and possible Wake Forest."
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