[MUSIC].
Since 1893 Ole Miss football has had its share of gridiron greats
don the red and blue.
Some so spectacular that the individuals become anonymous
or referred to by a single name.
Rebel fans might have a few that come to mind.
Takes the snap, here comes pressure, the give to Deuce.
Deuce in the backfield, breaks a tackle turns to the outside.
The give to Deuce who (inaudible) makes him turn to the 20,
he's got the first down breaks the tackle at the 40.
Deuce is loose.
Deuce for six.
Deuce at cornerback.
He's doing it all tonight.
He will score.
The 20, the ten, yes my man the Deuce is loose.
Although it seems only natural
to see Dulymus McAllister running with the pigskin,
football wasn't his only love at an early age.
I was always a pretty good athlete, you know whether it was soccer, baseball,
basketball, I ran track so whatever season it was
that's kind of the sport I played.
I played every other sport up until my senior year, you know up –
well really up until I graduated from high school.
I want to say some what I may have been under the radar,
but you know, some coaches saw me as a safety.
Some coaches saw me as a linebacker, you know
and so I've always felt like that if I could get the ball,
if I could touch the ball, I could do something special with it.
And so that was my goal my senior year and so when you read the paper
and you see, you know the top player Terrence Metcalf,
he was Dandy Dozen, he was an All-American, parade All-American.
You see Romaro Miller, Parade All-American, he's a Dandy Dozen top player.
You have all of these great receivers that want to come and play
where Romaro as the quarterback and I see one guy,
Terrance Metcalf, who's an outstanding left tackle.
I said that's who I want to play with, you know, I can run behind that guy
and it all just started to come together in that way.
Several freshmen have made an impact on this year's Ole Miss football team,
and Kelvin Thomas gives us a special look at this special group.
I came here, I'm a winner I was picked to win
and I think the guys who are coming in they expect to win too.
I can't come in and slack up, be a slacker, red shirt, none of that there,
I feel like I needed to come in and play, get the job done.
I chose Ole Miss because it was close to home,
and then because of Miller, Metcalf and Lucas, and all the other guys that sign,
I'm just trying to win, I'm just trying to get better with
just trying to win a National Championship.
One of the things that I always try to take pride in even as a freshman,
probably didn't do it as well,
but I wanted to know as much as the quarterback knew.
And once you get that piece of it, once you get that part
the game is easy, because it slows down for you.
Deuce McAllister now is in in the backfield a 6'1" 190-pound freshman
from Morton Mississippi and outstanding looking athlete.
In two a days he was a joy to watch,
he's a youngster that was All-State as a defensive back
and they've been toying with what to do with him offensively or defensively.
It would take all of two games for the Rebel coaching staff to realize
exactly where Deuce belonged, in the back field.
It's the Deuce McAllister show all of the sudden for Ole Miss.
Drops back, swings it out to the far side, caught by McAllister, hit at the ten,
breaks a tackle, breaks another one, at the six, he steams to the five,
to the four, he's to the three.
What a play by Deuce McAllister, he just would not go down.
My freshman year, playing with John Avery the thought process was
hey look, John could – you know he was going to soften the defense for me
and I would really pound the defense.
And so that Motor City Bowl, that last drive it may have been nine plays
and on those nine plays I think I had seven carries.
Really that was John handing it off, the baton to myself
and hey look kid it's yours now, you know it's time for you to take over
and that's kind of really what I felt
and I tried to just go out and make him proud.
Here's the snap, the give to Deuce over the top, touchdown Ole Miss.
With that leap the torch was firmly passed to McAllister.
And Deuce mania would spread like wildfire.
They call him Deuce, number 22.
He's double trouble wearing red and blue.
[MUSIC].
The Deuce is loose.
When you talk football, everybody says
He can do it all for the Ole Miss Rebs.
The Deuce is loose.
He will beat you up the middle.
He'll beat you round the end.
You can feel the breeze
But you can't catch the wind.
Well I have a dog named Deuce, a Chihuahua.
I have one named Deuce and one named Dex.
So you can see where I come from.
[Laughter].
When I say Deuce, what comes to mind?
Deuce is loose.
You know, third down and one, second down and one you know
everybody in the stands want him to get the ball.
I just think that he brought a lot of excitement to Oxford.
I mean, I remember the whole Heisman campaign.
I think I had a bumper sticker on my car at the time.
Just I was glad that he was playing for my team and he wasn't on the other team
and we weren't having to face him.
Rich Bisaccia who was my running back coach at the time,
he always would have a saying or something to me and you know,
one of the ones that I remember the most was,
they all came to see you play.
Taken by Deuce at the goal line, far side, straight ahead to the five,
ten, 15, 20, sidelines 25, 30, breaks a tackle, 40, breaks another one,
50, 40, 30, 20, 10 Touchdown Ole Miss.
To hear those fans scream your name, you know, it's a special feeling.
And people think we were booing, we were saying Deuce.
They thought it was boo.
And never quite getting that we were excited for him.
He could jump when he got to the goal line.
That was my favorite memory of him,
he was jumping and making the touchdown that way.
Everybody knew it, it was coming and they couldn't stop it.
Well I knew if I was able to get up off the ground at a certain level,
then I was just going to be able to jump over the top of a lot of guys.
[MUSIC].
The give is to Deuce, over the top left side, touchdown.
Takes the snap, gives to Deuce, he's over the top he's in the endzone.
There's the snap, it's Deuce over the top, he's in there touchdown.
Waiting for the snap, there it is it's McAllister over the top,
he's in the endzone.
I think one of the plays that really comes to mind is Mississippi State,
it's the first play of the second half,
Keedrick is the puller and Metcalf is the double team block.
It was perfect.
There's the snap, the give to Deuce straight ahead,
Deuce breaks it to the 35 the 40 he's already gone.
I kind of got spoiled by having this huge jumbo Tron in the endzone.
So at about 25 yards, I started watching myself.
30, to the 20, to the 10, to the 5 he dives in the endzone, touchdown Ole Miss.
Deuce was steaming hot coming off his record-breaking career at Ole Miss.
But it was now time for him to turn his attention to the next level.
After the senior year, going into the NFL draft at that time
I'm considered one of the top five prospects in the draft.
Mike you probably can predict who I have at the top,
Deuce McAllister, running back at Ole Miss.
Deuce, well alright.
6'1 ½" 220 with breakaway speed.
Deuce McAllister right now best senior out there for 2001.
That makes Mr. Herbstreet happy.
I ended up getting picked 23rd.
I'm devastated.
In a way I'm excited, I'm happy because the Saints picked me.
But I'm devastated really.
Nine years later, we call it a career.
I always look back and know I can't change it,
but I always wonder if Ricky wasn't there my rookie year,
because you got a – I only had 16 carries as a rookie.
Now I had 40 plus catches, but I only had 16 carries.
So I feel like in a way that was a lost season.
I was hurt for two years, ACLs to the left knee and the right knee.
So in a way I feel like those are lost seasons.
So out of eight years, I only really played five.
And I'm able to go over 6,000 yards.
Become the leading rusher in the New Orleans Saints history,
but you always wonder, man if I could have really played those three years
how different would have things have been.
Speculation aside, Deuce has made quite a life for himself
since retiring from the game.
Restaurant owner, entrepreneur, philanthropist,
not least of which color commentator for, you guessed it,
the New Orleans Saints.
How you doing sir?
Doing good.
Good.
What's going on baby?
Nothing good baby.
Good to see you.
What's going on champ?
I don't know, you doing alright?
Good to see you.
How you doing young lady?
Hey, how you doing today?
Doing good?
This is 17 years going on so yeah, it's like a family reunion
from the security to obviously the coaches and the players,
but particularly the security.
Right here this is the tunnel, this is basically where the players would enter.
Whoa, what's going on?
This is Deuce McAllister.
How you doing buddy?
This guy thinks he's still the fastest guy in the stadium.
I can out run him.
I guarantee you that.
Fred McAfee, Mississippi College legend, Philadelphia Mississippi.
I'm curious to see if they give him some first team snaps.
I want to hear what Deuce has to say about that.
How about it Deuce?
I think we disagree on Drew playing,
I think that he'll probably get about two series,
depending on how those series fair.
Deuce, the All-American man has reached the summit due to his work.
And it all started with an education from the University of Mississippi.
If you put your mind to it, you know, and you can get that education
that can open a lot of doors for you and so if a small kid,
I mean if a kid from small town Mississippi, Ludlow Mississippi, dirt road
can make it to the NFL, then I know that any kid in Mississippi can do it.
And one of the best decisions for me was going to the University of Mississippi,
not only did it allow me to play football,
but it allowed me to be able to pursue an education
and you know, just off the field as well.
He's just one of those guys that built the foundation here
and makes you, you know, you see him go to the next level
so that's somebody you want to look up to and follow his footsteps.
It's crazy like you don't notice
that people have walked these same paths that you have, so it's like –
it's incredible to see like somebody who's been here, done it
and at the level that he's at.
He is what we sell to all these players,
that hey, a Mississippi kid can come in here,
you know you can fulfill all your dreams on the field, off the field
and I think he is just a great example of an Ole Miss Rebel.
[MUSIC].