MERIDIAN —     These days it seems like Ole Miss quarterback Bo Wallace can do just about everything. The 6-foot-5, 210-pound quarterback out of East Mississippi Community College has given Rebels fans a reason for hope. He has shown he can pass by completing 35-of-46 passes for five touchdowns and just one interception this season. He has proved just as deadly on the ground, as he has rushed for 24 times for 135 yards and two touchdowns through his first two games.

    In fact, the only thing the star quarterback doesn't do is lose. Wallace hasn't seen an ‘L’ in the in the score book for quite some time. Wallace's last loss as a starter came 1,121 days ago to be exact when he was a senior at Giles County High School in Pulaski, Tenn., when his Bobcats fell to Cookeville 25-24 on Aug. 21, 2009. Since then, Wallace has practically given up losing altogether.

    “We got beat the first game of the year,” Giles County head coach David O'Conner said. “Even in that game it was back and forth. Late, we are down five points and (Wallace) drove us down to put us on top with 47 seconds left. At the end, they threw a hail-mary to beat us.

    “That was kind of the way we got beat in state the year before, he drove us down, we scored and they beat us on the last play again. It was two in a row we lost that way.”

    Needless to say, Wallace had his fill of losing. He would then lead the Bobcats to a win in their next 14 games en route to claiming the Tennessee Class 4A state championship.

    “He is a competitor,” O'Conner said. “I tell you what, the game slows down for him. He has very good presence in the pocket. His football IQ is way ahead of his academic IQ, I would say.”

    During his senior season, Wallace passed for 3288 yards and 37 touchdowns in the air, while also piling up 906 yards on 137 carries and 10 touchdowns on the ground.

    Despite the success however, Wallace was not highly recruited out of high school, receiving none of of the SEC offers he desired.

    “At that time, when he was coming out of high school I decided I had no idea what it took to be a college quarterback,” O'Conner said. “I couldn't understand why he wasn't a cant-miss prospect. I expect him to be an NFL player.”

    Wallace would eventually commit to Arkansas State, but he wouldn't stay long, as he was placed behind Ryan Aplin in the Red Wolves depth cart. Determined to start and prove his skills, Wallace went back to his high school coach to discuss the future.

    “Bo at that time decided he didn't want to wait two years until he got the opportunity to play,” O'Conner said. “I said, I got a couple guys in junior college, I knew coach (Buddy) Stephens, and I gave him a call.”

    That call was to the East Mississippi Community College coach was the beginning of great things for Wallace and the EMCC Lions.

    “David O'Conner and I had coached together and against each other in high school,” Stephens said. “He just called me one day and we talked about Bo. He wanted to know if I had any interest and I watched film on Bo. Everybody's complaint on Bo was he had some type of hitch in his throw, but it must be a pretty good hitch.”

    Wallace would take that hitch with him to EMCC along with a desire to prove himself and become the quarterback he knew he could be. From the start, Stephens said Wallace was hard working and eager to prove himself. In fact, early on the young quarterback was a little too eager.

    “He really wanted to play,” Stephens said. “You know how it is when you want to play. The first thing you do is you run outside and you forget your gloves. He was just all amped up, but he grew as the year went on.”

    During his freshman season at EMCC, Wallace did a little more than grow, he blossomed. On his way to leading EMCC to a perfect 12-0 season and an NJCAA national championship, the rising star ripped apart the record books as well. Wallace set NJCAA single-season records in passing yards (4,604), total yards (4,810) and touchdowns (53), while also completing 67 percent of his passes and only throwing 14 interceptions. The performance was enough to earn Wallace the 2011 NJCAA Offensive Player of the Year. More importantly, it landed him his dream offer, a chance to play for the University of Mississippi.

    “I don't think he could have written a better story,” O'Conner said. “The truth is, out of high school, he wanted to play at Ole Miss. He was really excited. When they finally offered, it was a no-brainer for him, and we knew that's where he was going to go.”

    Now in his third game with the Rebels, Wallace has cemented his role as the starting quarterback at Ole Miss. Saturday, however, will be the young quarterback's first real test, as the Texas Longhorns roll into Oxford. While, most experts have selected Texas as the favorite for the 8:15 p.m. matchup, those who really know Wallace are shy to pick against him.    

    “I know this, I'm not going to bet against Bo,” Stephens said. “I know Bo's a winner, and win or lose this week, they got it going in the right direction.”