Bo Wallace, former Ole Miss football star, joins Holmes CC
GOODMAN, Miss. (BVM) — When people talk about electrifying college football players, one may think about Johnny Manziel or Reggie Bush. But there is a player that football fans may not consider: Bo Wallace.
As a high school quarterback, Wallace began to earn recognition for his play at Giles County High School in Tennessee. There he led the Bobcats to a Class 4A state championship and was named Tennessee Titan’s Mr. Football. Along with those accolades, Wallace finished his career with 6,227 passing yards and 64 passing touchdowns.
With statistics like those, one could imagine Wallace would’ve had a successful college career straight out of high school. However, that wasn’t the case as Wallace committed to Arkansas State only to transfer a year later.
“I ended getting sick early in camp, but I don’t think I would’ve won the job anyway,” Wallace said. “I wasn’t going to hang around in Jonesboro, Arkansas, and watch him [Ryan Aplin] play football. I got a hold of my high school head coach, and we put a plan together on what we needed to do.”
That plan included going to play for Buddy Stephens at East Mississippi CC before the cameras of “Last Chance U” arrived in 2015.
“I was just going to transfer to UT Martin and try to win that job and be a four-year starter [there],” Wallace said. “[But] Buddy came to me. He didn’t let me see the campus and all that kind of stuff. He brought the scholarship to me. We went to a local restaurant in my hometown, and I signed the papers without really seeing the campus.”
When the show did eventually come out, Wallace already knew what to expect to see on the screen.
“When I first watched the show, I thought it did a great job depicting what it was like,” Wallace said. “They showed how it was. There was no sugar coating it. It was real. That’s what made it the show it was.”
Nevertheless, for a player like Wallace, playing JuCo could’ve prolonged his pursuit of being a college quarterback, but Wallace kept his eye on the prize.
“It was definitely a shock when I showed up there,” Wallace said. “But I knew this was the path that I had to take to accomplish the dreams and goals I had set out for myself.”
Nonetheless, Wallace showed the nation what they had passed on by having a historic season in 2011. In one season, he set NJCAA single-season records for most passing yards (4,604) and total yards (4,810). Those records still stand today. He also passed for 53 TDs, which was the record at the time.
Along with setting multiple NJCAA records, Wallace helped EMCC capture its first national title in program history. He would go on to be named NJCAA Offensive Player of the Year as well. As a result of this historical season, Wallace found himself as one of the most coveted JuCo prospects across the nation. And a former coach of his, Hugh Freeze, came knocking.
“I had a lot more opportunities coming out of junior college than I did in high school,” Wallace said. “When coach Freeze got the job at Ole Miss, [I felt great]. I had always wanted to play in the SEC, and I had taken a visit after my sophomore year and fell in love with it. I knew that Ole Miss needed a quarterback, and I knew that I would probably have an upper hand because I already knew the offense and had an idea of how he liked to call things.”
Right out of the gate, Wallace would substantially impact the Ole Miss football team. In his first year as the starter, Wallace passed for 2,994 yards and 22 TDs and also rushed for 390 yards and eight TDs. He also won the Conerly Trophy, given annually to the best college football player in Mississippi.
In Wallace’s last year (2014), he’d lead the Rebels to heights they hadn’t seen since Eli Manning. He passed for 3,194 yards and 22 touchdowns and rushed for 199 yards with five TDs.
The season’s pinnacle was reached when No. 1 Alabama traveled to Oxford, and the Rebels walked away with a 23-17 win.
“That was my defining game at Ole Miss,” Wallace said. “The thing I remember the most about that game is that me, Coach Freeze, and Coach Warner (Ole Miss QB coach /OC at the time) going through different scenarios of what the play (what would be the game–winning play) was going to be. I can’t remember who said it, but the play call was “Rocket Special,” and everyone looked at each other like that’s the one.”
The Rebels reached the rank of No. 3 in the nation, which was their highest ranking since 1964. And along with leading the Rebels to a historic season, Wallace also finished his career as one of and arguably the best quarterback in Ole Miss history.
“There’ve been a lot of really good QBs throughout Ole Miss’ history, but I think I have an argument for it,” Wallace said.“Obviously, I wasn’t able to go do the other things that Eli was able to do after that, but [if] were just talking about Ole Miss and what we were able to do there and the impact, I can argue it [that I’m No. 1].”
In the Ole Miss record books, Wallace’s name is listed 68 times. He still holds the record for most career yards (10,478) and finished with 81 career TDs, five behind Manning.
Following a bright collegiate career, Wallace would look for a shot in the NFL. The Kansas City Chiefs gave him that shot, but he’d be cut in camp. And it begs the question: did Wallace get a fair shot? Or was the offense he ran at Ole Miss just ahead of its time?
“When Freeze got to Ole Miss, the SEC was still defense [minded] and play power football,” Wallace said. “Bringing the RPOs in gave people fits, and we had a team that came together and we played our asses off. But the style of offense that we were running definitely helped us win games maybe we shouldn’t have.”
Despite everything Wallace has been through, he still finds himself on the gridiron, but he has a different role and a new perspective on the game he loves.
“I always knew I wanted to coach,” Wallace said. “I was going to play as long as I could and then make sure guys I was around knew I wanted to be a football coach.”
He’s made several stops at different levels, including traveling back to help EMCC in 2017. And along the way, he got to coach his younger brother, Bryce.
“When he was in fourth, fifth, and sixth grade, he was in the stands watching SEC defensives and offenses,” Wallace said. “It was fun to see his enthusiasm for learning the offense. He could naturally understand that type of stuff.”
Along with coaching his brother, Wallace now has the opportunity to coach alongside his former OC Marcus Wood at Holmes CC.
“He’s a big-time players coach,” Wallace said of Wood. “It’s a lot of fun to play for him, and it’s the same as a coach. He still looks at us like his players. It’s really just the same, but as far as the relationship with him, it’s like playing for a quarterback for him. That’s the type of person he is, and he has that relationship with me and the other assistants too. He’s just a genuine good dude.”
For Wallace, his football journey has been an exhilarating one. He’s doing what he wants to do, and he’s eager to get the football season underway. But at Holmes, he’ll aim to help young athletes while continuing to improve himself as a coach.
“[I want] to keep learning and keep growing,” Wallace said. “I’ve been a coordinator at a couple of different places. I feel like I’m at a really good place because I can take a step back this year, especially where we’re at and what we’re trying to do…“It’s [football] the biggest team sport that there is,” Wallace said. “I love that locker room aspect, I love the guys on the team and that’s what drives me every day. Being part of a team and people working together for a common goal.”
