Ole Miss linebacker Luke Ferrelli
OleMiss365.com recently sat down with Rebel linebacker Luke Ferrelli who has recently been cast to the center of the college football news universe. Ferrelli was the ACC defensive rookie of the year last season as a freshman at California before transferring to Ole Miss via Clemson.
OM365.com: Luke, there has been a lot of talk lately about your recruitment from Clemson on behalf of Ole Miss. What do you have to say about it?
FERRELLI: I’m just saying I’m here now. I love Oxford, I love the community and I love the fans. The coaches have been supportive. I’m just super blessed to be here, and I’m excited to play some ball.
OM365.com: You started wearing the green dot last year as a freshman at Cal. That is a huge responsibility. The green dot means you are wearing the communication device to get defensive calls in from the sidelines every, single snap. Then after calling the defense, you’ve got to play ball. The word is you will be the green dot for the Ole Miss defense this season.
FERRELLI: For some games last season I was the green dot. I didn’t wear it for the first two games, but as I grew more confident playing college football, the coaches just gave me more trust.
OM365.com: Talk to us about the responsibility of wearing the green dot.
FERRELLI: For an example, PG (Pete Golding) is calling the plays here. So Coach Golding will be calling the plays and the Mike linebacker on the field will have the microphone system in the helmet. You’ve got 15 seconds to call the play. So when he gives it to you, you’ve got to look at the formation, line up the front and also got to relay the call to the guys on the backend so they can line up, as well. It’s kind of a lot of pieces in 15-20 seconds, but when the ball is snapped you’ve got to play ball. And play fast.
OM365.com: You say 15-20 seconds, but the offense can go as fast as it wants.
FERRELLI: That’s right. As soon as that ball is snapped, it cuts off.
OM365.com: Luke, you are from California. How have you adjusted to Oxford, Mississippi, in a few short months?
FERRELLI: It’s a lot different. I’m a West Coast kid. I grew up surfing and skating kind of like in a beach town. This is my first time in the South, and I absolutely love it. The people are welcoming. The town is awesome, the fans are awesome. The food is great, all the Southern food, it’s my absolutely favorite for sure. Oxford is great.
OM365.com: Let’s talk expectations. You know what this team did last year…one win away from playing for a national title. Give me your opinion coming into a program like this.
FERRELLI: Just coming in and seeing all these guys who are going to be potentially NFL players, it’s been awesome. I’ve been learning a lot. I’m just super blessed and grateful to be here. What I can say is that we’re putting in the work, going hard at practice and in the weight room…We’re always working. We’re going to be ready. We’ve got our quarterback back, and I think that’s a very important piece.
OM365.com: (Ole Miss linebacker Raymond Collins was also at this interview.) Raymond, you have seen Luke better than anyone., What is your opinion on him?
COLLINS: A guy that is fast. He’s smart. Luke is very electric. You just see Luke out there and you say, ‘Damn, where did he come from?’ He’s a very flashy, electric guy.