Freshman Hunter Elliott "building my own legacy" as a key piece to the Ole Miss bullpen

When anyone on the Ole Miss baseball team is asked about this year’s pitching staff the one word they all use is depth and freshman Hunter Elliott’s arm is part of that depth.

Coming in from Tupelo High School, Elliott entered the fall as a prized prospect and with the production that was leaving the Rebels staff there was going to be a spot for him to take.

With the 2022 season starting up this week, the Rebels are fine tuning everything ahead of Friday and getting the staff in order. At least for the onset of the season, Elliott has a clear idea for his role.

“I see (myself) coming out of the bullpen, definitely on the weekend,” Elliott said. “That’s the plan and hopefully what my role is to start out. We’ll see just wherever it takes me.”

During the fall, Elliott added the slider to his arsenal. It was the product of speaking with head coach Mike Bianco about providing different options for the freshman on the mound.

Adding the slider gives Elliott what he called a “put out pitch,” something he was lacking. He said he likes his curveball but was not getting a lot of swing and miss on it.

The slider is not completely new for Elliott who said he’d tried it some during bullpen sessions at Tupelo but never got too involved with it beyond there.

“The curveball’s been better than we thought it would be,” Bianco said. “His change up and his fast ball have been. He had a really good fall. We wanted something that was more of a swing and a miss to the left handers and it has been. I think it’s still a work in progress.”

Elliott is one of only four left-handed pitchers on the Rebels staff, which is why Bianco is going to be relying on him early and often if need be when matchups at the plate dictate so.

The depth comes from Elliott being part of a group of new comers that will only add on to the talent that is returning to the bullpen. He joins Jack Dougherty, Brandon Johnson, Josh Mallitz, Wes Burton that had success last season.

Having witnessed the staff at work during fall and the preseason, Elliott expects outings to be at a premium.

“Just like with the offense, there’s going to be a lot of good pitchers that don’t get many innings this year,” Elliott said. “It’s a problem you like to have.”

There is confidence about Elliott as well which is easy to tell with the choice to wear No. 26, a number made famous by Nikhazy. That paired with the similar long hair, the comparisons might come — fair or unfairly — and Elliott is prepared for it.

Elliott is also not worrying himself with those comparisions

“I don’t think much about it,” Elliott said. “I’m just trying to build my own legacy here. But yeah, I think it’s cool.”

When it comes to the offense that was the best in the SEC a season ago and returns the entire lineup, Elliott has had plenty of first hand experience against it.

Throughout the fall, Elliott faced the lineup several times and throughout the preseason in scrimmages. He noted Kevin Graham hit a home run off him in one of his first outings and it instantly alerted him to how good the lineup is.

“They’re good. Really good,” Elliott said. “Everyone of them. Top to bottom. Even the guys that don’t play. There’s going to be insane hitters that don’t play this year. That’s just how it is here. It was an eye-opening experience, for sure. I think my first outing Kevin hit a home run off me and I was like, ‘Alright. Here we go.'”