OT: Ole Miss coach ends 2-a-days with epic practical joke

Submitted by reshp1 on

Thought this was a fitting and hilarious story considering the season is right around the corner.

http://www.redcuprebellion.com/2014/8/26/6070637/coach-hugh-freeze-like…

 

There is a tough line to define when preparing a team in Fall camp with no classes taking place. You don't want to wear them out, but you want to keep them engaged. Two a day practices are hard on a team, and by the last day you are trying to keep them going. Freeze hatches a plan for a practical joke on his team. He tells no one about his plan, with the exception of the equipment manager. No assistants, no players, no one besides Freeze and this equipment manager know what is taking place.

Throughout two a day practices, Freeze sends his "guy" (someone he trusts) up into Vaught Hemingway to look over the practice field with a camera phone and binoculars. When he sees the man take his post overlooking practice, Freeze yells at security, "Get that guy out of here! He can't be up there! Get rid of him!" Off the guards go, chasing the man away. Eventually, the players think nothing of this.

On the last day of two a day practices, Coach Freeze lets Paul Jackson in on his prank. Paul Jackson, of course, is the Strength Coach for the Ole Miss Rebels. With Coach Jackson in on the secret, they continue out to practice. As usual, Freeze's guy shows up to spy on practice. When Freeze sees the man, he yells out, "That's it! Forget security! Coach Jackson, get that camera and get that guy out of here, now!" Coach Jackson takes off running toward the stadium. The players go back to work, preparing for Oklahoma drills and other full contact drills.

As Coach Jackson begins to approach the man, Freeze exclaims to the team, "Look guys! Coach is about to get him!" Everyone looks up to see Coach Jackson knock the camera phone out of the man's hand and over the side of the stadium. The team begins to get excited and begins to cheer on their Strength Coach. The spy takes of running up the stadium with Coach Jackson in full pursuit. Players are screaming, "Get him Coach!" All eyes are on the chase that is taking place high up in the Vaught.

Now, what no one knows, except for Freeze, Jackson, and the spy, is that there is a dummy hidden atop the stadium. The dummy is dressed just like the spy. When the men reach the top, Coach Jackson hurls the dummy over the side of the stadium, seemingly sending the spy plummeting to the ground. You can hear a pin drop. The team goes from cheering to speechless. Immediately, Coach Freeze begins to shout, "Call the paramedics! Coaches, get these guys in the locker room now! No cell phones! Take their phones and don't let them talk to anyone!"

Now, with the players and the assistant coaches in the locker room flustered and bewildered, Freeze walks in. He looks over his team and begins to speak, "Okay guys, this is it. This is one of those All In moments. We have to protect Coach Jackson. We're going to bury the body, and we're going to bury the shovel."

The players faces are blank. Even a few freshman are heard whispering, "bury the body?!"

At this moment, Coach Jackson and the spy come rolling into the locker room. Practice is over, and the prank is a success. The team heads off to the movies. This is how two a day practices for the Ole Miss Rebels comes to a close in August of 2014. The End.

LSAClassOf2000

August 28th, 2014 at 11:25 AM ^

"Now, with the players and the assistant coaches in the locker room flustered and bewildered, Freeze walks in. He looks over his team and begins to speak, "Okay guys, this is it. This is one of those All In moments. We have to protect Coach Jackson. We're going to bury the body, and we're going to bury the shovel."

I can almost see one player raising their hand, "But what about the shovel we used to bury that shovel? What should we do with that? Then, what about the shovel used to bury the shovel that was used to bury the original shovel? I think I've spotted the flaw here..."

MGlobules

August 28th, 2014 at 12:06 PM ^

than it used to be. Reminds me of the WSJ, where the readership is very conservative but the staff is often quite progressive. 

The level of humor--what people THINK is humor--descends accordingly. 

BayWolves

August 28th, 2014 at 12:21 PM ^

Hilarious but do that in California where I live and everyone including the players is either going to get prosecuted.for hurting or assaulting an inanimate object or face six months of sensitivity training for causing the dummy to feel like it was not included.

gwkrlghl

August 28th, 2014 at 12:25 PM ^

I thought he was going to go in the lockeroom and say "Aha! it's a joke!" but the finishing touch of saying they were as going to bury the body as a team "All In" moment was a perfect finish.

StephenRKass

August 28th, 2014 at 1:27 PM ^

No one gets hurt, they're really afraid for a couple minutes, then the "gotcha." Some people just hate practical jokes. I guess there's a time and a place, but it seems fine to me. The only over the top part was the shovel and the "conspiracy." A guess that's a Southern, SEC kinda thing.

grumbler

August 28th, 2014 at 6:34 PM ^

Agreed.  The joke would have been better if the dummy had come aprt when it hit, letting everyone know it was a joke.  If you include "All In" as part of a joke, it becomes part of a joke.

EDIT:  Upon further thought, I don't agree with myself.  The latter part was just fine.

Danwillhor

August 28th, 2014 at 4:22 PM ^

but I laughed as I read the part of him saying they had to help bury the body. Both because HF would be funny doing it but I read it in the tone of Ferrell when he does the totally serious in the face of absurdity routine. What it really shows is the SEC culture because you know some kids bought it for at least a few seconds. Then, YAY MOVIES!