OXFORD, Miss. - Brent Schaeffer still remembers trotting onto the field at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium for the first time.

It was Oct. 16, 2004, and Schaeffer was decked out in his white University of Tennessee jersey. It wasn't a pleasant experience.

''I remember when we came on the field, the fans were talking to us and yelling at us and stuff,'' Schaeffer said.

It's safe to say they weren't yelling complimentary things. Schaeffer's next jog onto the field promises to be much more enjoyable.

On Sept. 3, the left-handed junior quarterback will make his much-contemplated return to SEC football. Only this time, he'll be wearing the red and blue of Ole Miss when the Rebels open up against Memphis.

Schaeffer is the player who's been charged with turning around Ole Miss's fortunes. He's being counted on to jumpstart an offense that has simply been anemic the past two years, largely because the Rebels have had no consistency at the quarterback position, spending those two years using a trio of quarterbacks in hopes of finding the right player.

Ole Miss coach Ed Orgeron and first-year Rebels offensive coordinator Dan Werner believe Schaeffer is that player. Based on his credentials, there's no reason to doubt it.

After passing for 2,970 yards and 40 touchdowns at the College of the Sequoias, a junior college in Visalia, Calif., last year, Schaeffer was tabbed by most publications as one of the top three JUCO players in the country. After he signed with Ole Miss, Scout.com/Athlon rated him No. 1 among the top SEC newcomers. Lindy's called him one of the nation's top five impact junior college transfers. ESPN.com's Bruce Feldman had him rated No. 9 among his top 10 transfers nationally.

So what does Schaeffer think about all of this?

''I don't feed into the hype,'' he said. ''I just have tunnel vision when it comes to that. There's not pressure. I'm going to play football with or without hype.''

Because he had to spend the summer finishing up course work in California, Schaeffer didn't arrive in Oxford until the players reported Aug. 3. Since then, he has spent his time acclimating himself to his new teammates and the Ole Miss offense.

Werner gave his new pupil a bit of advice before preseason practice began.

''I didn't want him to come in right away and act like he was the leader of this football team because he hadn't been here,'' Werner said. ''He's gotta prove that he's earned it first. I think he's done that so far. Now he's gotta take a few little steps to make the guys understand that sooner or later, he will be the guy running the show."

A 6-foot-2, 195-pounder, Schaeffer understands the position he is in, trying to rebuild an offense that averaged just 281.7 yards and 13.5 points per game. At COTS, Schaeffer accounted for 50 touchdowns last season with his arm and legs. Ole Miss had 17.

''I think you have to lead as a quarterback,'' Schaeffer said. ''It's like a point guard has to lead in basketball. There's no way you can get around it. It's a focal position.

"It happens naturally. But there's some good, positive leaders, and there are some negative leaders.''

Schaeffer has come to learn that since his playing days at Tennessee. He played in eight games at UT, completing 18 of 37 passes for 302 yards, two touchdowns and one interception. He also ran for 66 yards before a broken collarbone ended his season.

After the season, a suspension stemming from a misdemeanor arrest for allegedly hitting another student led to his transfer to junior college. It's an incident Schaeffer looks back on now as a valuable lesson.

''Being at Tennessee my freshman year has made me the person I am now, which I feel like is a better person,'' Schaeffer said. ''I'm just trying to become a better person every day and a better football player every day. I think it was good for me to go through that and experience that.

''It was a rough time for me, especially being an 18-year-old freshman at that time. But I just think it makes me a better person to go through it. I'm a Christian and my mom always told me the Lord never brings you through nothing he can't get you through. I take that approach. I've got an optimistic approach about it.''

After arriving in California, it didn't take Schaeffer long to realize his life had changed.

''You really find out who your friends are,'' he said. ''A lot of people who called me when I was at Tennessee, didn't call me when I was in junior college.''

Playing in junior college also helped him realize the little things he took for granted at Tennessee. There's no pampering and catering to athletes at the junior-college level like there is in major college football.

''It's a struggle every day in junior college,'' he said. ''You're playing football, and you're going to school, but it's a struggle doing the small things that were probably given to you. You just learn to appreciate the little things.''

With that behind him, Schaeffer is ready to make the most of his new opportunity. He has quickly grasped Werner's pro-style offense.

That has allowed Werner to proceed at the normal pace of installing his offense.

''He stepped in the very first day calling plays in the huddle like he knew the offense,'' Werner said. ''You could see he was making the reads, making the audibles, everything we ask him to do.

"One of the players said to me after the first practice, 'I can't believe he knows this stuff that well already.' That was a good sign. If a quarterback sets in the huddle and has that look about him, they're probably going to follow him.''

Werner likes Schaeffer's touch on his passes, particularly the deep ball. He also likes having a quarterback capable of using his legs to get out of trouble.

But what has impressed Werner most is Schaeffer's ability to see the whole field.

''You never know how he's going to see the field,'' Werner said. ''There's no way you can ever tell that. There's guys in the NFL that get drafted in the first round and they just can't do it. You can see he has a good feel for where receivers are and he knows the progressions."

And that's why Orgeron was adamant on signing day that Schaeffer was going to be his starting quarterback.

"I think Schaeffer put our program at least three years ahead by coming here," Orgeron said.

All eyes will be on Schaeffer in 2006.

Will he live up to all of the hype he generated from February until now?

''You're only as good as your players, and he's obviously a good one,'' Werner said.