HOOVER, Ala. — He’s the same, but different.

Houston Nutt took center stage Thursday with energy and enthusiasm.

He could sell ice makers in Anchorage, Alaska.

That’s not a knock, just the simple truth that Nutt is a motivated communicator.

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No matter where he has been during his playing and coaching career — from the University of Arkansas and Oklahoma State to Murray State, Boise State and back with the Razorbacks — he’s been dedicated and loyal about talking up everything in his current situation.

Several times Thursday during his 30 minutes in front of reporters who are here for the SEC football media days, he stated emphatically that he is happy in Oxford, Miss., and feels like he has been there a long time.

That’s good, and there’s no doubt he is a refreshing change for the Rebels nation.

First, he’s not Ed Orgeron. Nutt is well-spoken, owns some nice suits and ties and considers profanity a no-no.

He’s become friends with legendary Ole Miss hero Archie Manning, and last Sunday introduced the former Ole Miss quarterback at a 50-year reunion dinner of the Liberty Bowl.

The media who cover him leave the impression that Nutt gets standing ovations in church and anywhere else he appears.

If he needs to say y’all with a drawl, he will.

Expectations are high, but not too high at a school where Orgeron was 10-25 as the head coach. Nutt was 75-48 at Arkansas, and that would get him a second 10 years in Oxford.

Of course, it wasn’t his record that led to his “resignation” at the UA, which was treated like a firing that left him with $ 3. 2 million of golden handcuff donations.

It would be hard to say what the final straw was, but there was no doubt much of the fan base — who flew banners with negative messages about Nutt during games, used the state’s Freedom of Information Act to get his phone records and thumbed their noses at him on Web sites — had become disenchanted with him.

Most likely it started in 2003, when the Razorbacks won in Austin, Texas, and rose to No. 7 in the country but ended the season in Shreveport’s bowl. By that time Nutt was having open discussions with Nebraska, and then later supposedly private ones with LSU.

Despite which side you were on, no one was happy with the handling of former offensive coordinator Gus Malzahn, quarterback Mitch Mustain and receiver Damian Williams. That was followed by a message when Lee Ziemba and Kodi Burns — both of whom lived less than an hour from the UA campus — signed with Auburn.

Nutt has said as recently as last week that his leaving Arkansas is water under the bridge and that he has moved on.

“I’m 100 percent Ole Miss,” he says with his fire-and-brimstone delivery.

The first time he was asked about returning to Razorback Stadium this season, he said his focus was on Memphis, the Rebels’ first opponent.

The second time he was asked, he said: “October 25 is a long way away.”

Maybe he knows the exact date of every game, but for sure he knows when he’ll step onto the Razorbacks field as a visitor, not by running through the “A”.

Besides, All-SEC tackle Michael Oher told the media that Oct. 25 was circled on the Rebels’ schedule.

Nutt managed to work in during his talk about Rebels football that he was “proud to say they wanted us.” He also mentioned that 1, 500 were on hand for the announcement of his hiring and that “another 500 or 600 were turned away.”

Nutt let it be known that the fresh start had another upside.

“I love our location. Lots of athletes in Mississippi,” he said.

It is obvious that for the most part Nutt has moved on. His loyalties are red and blue, and the fans there love him.

Everyone makes mistakes, but learning from them is the key.

Now Nutt lives on a 150-acre farm outside of Oxford, Miss., and while once each year there will be reminders of his decade at Arkansas, he has moved on.

Houston Nutt is an Ole Miss Rebel. Now it’s all about the “M” on the helmet.