Raymond Cotton’s case of nitwit-itis torpedoes Ole Miss’s QB depth chart

A few weeks ago, Raymond Cotton was Ole Miss’s quarterback of the future.  Today, he’s on the verge of being South Alabama’s quarterback of the future.  How did it come to this?

For starters, Cotton’s never been completely healthy since he signed with Ole Miss in 2009.  A torn labrum in his throwing shoulder has only been further irritated by the increased number of passes he’s had to throw since becoming a collegian.

However, that injury didn’t prevent him from participating in the Ole Miss spring game this year, a game in which he didn’t fail to impress (5-of-7 for 178 yards and 2 scores).  But sophomore Nathan Stanley, who’s backed up Jevan Snead the last two seasons, also had a pretty good effort, going 11-of-16 for 166 yards and a couple of scores.

Following the game, here’s what Ole Miss head coach Houston Nutt had to say:

“We’re not afraid to play Raymond Cotton,” Nutt said. “He’s can rise to the occasion. We will make a decision on his physical status in the next two weeks. The best case scenario is if Raymond can rehab and play, but we’re going to do what is best for Raymond.” (AP)

If you’re Nutt, what are your options?  Your backup quarterback from the previous season didn’t do anything to fall out of the race for the starting job while your prized redshirt freshman is nursing a bum shoulder.

It’s obvious to everyone observing the situation that Nutt couldn’t very well name Cotton the starter.  But instead of coming out and saying just that, Nutt hedged his bets a little bit.  His motivation for doing so may have been a desire to keep his quarterback’s spirits up.

However, instead of comforting Cotton, Nutt’s approach appeared to have emboldened him.  Reports started circulating weeks ago that he expected a lot of playing time this fall ahead of Stanley, whose superior knowledge of the offense didn’t appear to be that big of a deal to Cotton.

Apparently Cotton is of the belief that SEC coaches start inexperienced quarterbacks who have torn labrums all the time, it’s not that big of a deal.  Good health and familiarity with the playbook?  I guess those are both HIGHLY overrated attributes in the mind of a redshirt freshman.

If you think Cotton was getting these crazy theories on depth chart management from his parents, think again.  They, along with Ole Miss coaches, had been telling him to stay put:

“If (Raymond) listens to mom and dad, he’ll make the right decision,” Nutt said.

On Friday at Southeastern Conference Media Days, Nutt said Cotton’s status with the team was still uncertain. The redshirt freshman quarterback has told people on campus he plans on transferring after the summer semester, but Nutt still wants him to stay.

The third-year Ole Miss coach said he hoped to meet with Cotton and his parents sometime on Friday, and that the issues could be resolved by the end of the weekend. (Jackson Clarion-Ledger)

Oh, there was a resolution, alright: Raymond Cotton is transferring, with a likely destination being South Alabama.  Why South Alabama?  He’s familiar with the Mobile area after his family moved there following his senior year of high school in Ft. Meade, Md.

It appears that Nutt and his staff did everything in their power to keep him in the fold.  Unfortunately for them, they were dealing with a kid who refused to look at the big picture.

Cotton’s head scratcher of a move now leaves Ole Miss with two scholarship quarterbacks, the aforementioned Stanley and junior college transfer Randall Mackey.  Ouch.

Suddenly, Ole Miss might be a very likely destination for Jeremiah Masoli, a guy whose rap sheet sank what had been a fantastic career at Oregon.

He’s got a year of eligibility left and can play immediately because he’s got his undergrad degree in hand.  But can Nutt afford to roll the dice on a troubled player who had two run-ins with the law in a six month period?

I don’t think Nutt really has a choice at this point, not with his quarterback depth chart in ruins.  He’d probably settle for a decent kid to fill the third string spot at this point.  But it would be a mighty nice luxury if the quick fix happened to be one of college football’s most dynamic talents.