Former Ole Miss QB and retired NFL return man Micheal Spurlock now coaches wide receivers at Southeastern Louisiana.(Photo: Courtesy Ole Miss Athletics /Special to the Clarion Ledger)

OXFORD When Ole Miss hosts Southeastern Louisiana on Saturday, a familiar face will be roaming thesideline. But he willbe wearing unfamiliar colors.

Former Ole Miss quarterback Micheal Spurlock, who played in 20 games for the Rebels between 2003-05, will return to Oxford this weekend as the visiting team's wide receivers coach. Spurlock, anIndianola native who played eight years in the NFL as a receiver and return man, is in his second season as a full-time college position coach.

This is not the path Spurlock says he expected his life to take.

"No way.If I wrote the story 10 times, it never would've come out with this ending," Spurlock told the Clarion Ledger."But you know the old saying, 'If you love what you do, you'll never work a day?' I feel like I can do this 18 hours a day and not feel like it's work because I enjoy the guys I work with. You spend long hours with them, but they become your family. And then the kids you work with. To me, they've become my kids."

Former Ole Miss QB Micheal Spurlock (under center) now coaches wide receivers at Southeastern Louisiana.(Photo: Courtesy Ole Miss Athletics / Special to the Clarion Ledger)

Spurlock's journey from Ole Miss to Hammond, Louisiana, involved more stops than a bus trip from Los Angeles to New York. Between 2006 and 2014, Spurlock bounced from Arizona to Tampa to San Francisco to Dallas to Jacksonville to San Diego to Chicago before he announced his retirement from professional football. He ended hiscareer with two punt return touchdowns, three kick return touchdowns and three receiving touchdowns.

Upon retiring, Spurlock returned home to Mississippi with his wife and six kids. Boredom set in pretty quick.

"You don't realize it, but most of your life if you're a player, you had someone setting a schedule for you," Spurlock said. "All of a sudden, [my wife and I] would wake up and look at each other and say, 'What do you want to do today?'"

For Spurlock, the answer to that question often involved heading to the local ballpark to watch kids play baseball. Soon after, Spurlock's wife encouraged him to take up coaching, since he obviously liked interacting with and imparting wisdom upon young athletes.

So Spurlock volunteered as a coach at Philadelphia High School. Soon after, he spent some time at Coahoma Community College. Then, in 2016, he startedan internship with the Dallas Cowboys. By 2017, former Ole Miss assistant coach Frank Wilson had offered Spurlock a position as a quality control assistant at UTSA.

It was there where Spurlock met Frank Scelfo. He was UTSA's offensive coordinator, and Spurlock's cubicle was right outside of Scelfo's office. The two would talk every day. So when Scelfo was hired as Southeastern Louisiana's head coach, he offered to bring Spurlock with him.

"People always say 'I want to help you' in this profession," Spurlock said."He was a man of his word."

Former Ole Miss QB and NFL return ace Micheal Spurlock now coaches wide receivers at Southeastern Louisiana.(Photo: Courtesy Ole Miss Athletics)

The job has been a blessing for Spurlock. He's only three hours from his hometown and happy to be working in the Southeast again. But more than that, he's happy to have found a job where he can make a difference in the lives of young people.

When reflecting on how important Ole Miss was to his life, Spurlock said the school helped turn him from an 18-year-old kid into a 23-year-old man. Now he's getting to do the same with the players he coaches. It's the relationships that matter to Spurlock, who said he looks forward to getting invites to weddings and birthdays 20 years from now because of the difference he's making today.

It's not as if this will be Spurlock's first return trip to Oxford since 2005. His brother-in-law works at Oxford High School, so he stops by on recruiting trips any time he's in the area.

But the chance to coach at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium this Saturday, even if it's for the opposing team? It'll be a special opportunity for Spurlock.

"There's nothing but family there," Spurlock said of Oxford and Ole Miss. "But just for one day I have to go and compete against them."

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Contact Nick Suss at 601-408-2674 or nsuss@gannett.com. Follow @nicksuss on Twitter.

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Homecoming: Former Ole Miss quarterback returns to Oxford as opposing coach - Jackson Clarion Ledger