OXFORD — Wednesday felt a lot like the first day of school.
Ole Miss started its fall camp Wednesday morning, which all leads up to its season-opening matchup against Troy on Sept. 3. The Rebels are coming off a 10-3 campaign that resulted in a Sugar Bowl berth.
But several key pieces from that team are gone — including star quarterback Matt Corral and All-American defensive end Sam Williams — as are a few coordinators. There is a lot of talent on the roster, and a lot of it is new faces by way of the transfer portal.
Yes, the Rebels had spring practice to get acquainted with some of the new pieces. But senior safety A.J. Finley admits it’s still a little bit of a challenge learning all the names and faces.
“There’s still some guys I don’t even know personally yet. I’m a really big guy on, like, I like to get to know people,” Finley said. “So not knowing everybody, that’s really been kind of bugging me a little bit.
“There were a few guys I was looking for (from last year’s team) and I was just like, ‘They’re not here anymore.’ So, it is a little weird.”
The hottest topic of camp will be deciding who replaces Corral. The battle is between sophomore Luke Altmyer — a Starkville High School product — and USC transfer Jaxson Dart. None of that was decided Wednesday, though head coach Lane Kiffin said he would like to have it figured out “sooner than later,” also noting it’s not a decision that can be rushed.
The Rebels are a work in progress.
“We have a lot of moving parts, as we discussed all spring, with new players … This is a different era nowadays, in general, because you don’t have programs where everyone’s been there for years in your program and understanding what the expectations are,” Kiffin said. “I’m sure a lot of people are dealing with this, but especially us, with the amount of transfers … Guys that are supposed to be significant players being new, even some not even being here in the spring.
“So, that’s a big challenge of ours, is how well we can get the players to buy into the values and principles of our organization, what we do here. Because that’s not going to happen overnight.”
As can be the case before that fateful first day of school, Altmyer admitted he’s had trouble sleeping the last few nights. Not because of the quarterback derby or anything like that.
No, Altmyer was just that excited that football was officially back. There’s just something special about putting a helmet on again.
“I definitely get nervous,” Altmyer said. “I think two nights ago, I couldn’t even sleep. Seriously, it’s crazy how it works.
“You love it so much. How could you not? You just want to perform really well and do well for your teammates and kind of the people you love most. That’s what makes it fun.”
Practice notes
Offense
As expected, reps were split between Altmyer and Dart during what looked to be first-team offensive portions of practice. The offensive line appears to be set with junior Jeremy James at left tackle, senior Nick Broeker at left guard, junior Caleb Warren at center, sophomore Eli Acker at right guard and Western Kentucky senior transfer Mason Brooks at right tackle. TCU transfer Zach Evans, SMU transfer Ulysses Bentley IV, freshman Quinshon Judkins and junior Kentrel Bullock saw the lion’s share of reps at running back.
As was also expected, a lot of wide receivers saw action. Central Florida transfer Jaylon Robinson, Louisville transfer Jordan Watkins and senior Jonathan Mingo were on the field with both Dart and Altmyer, as was Mississippi State transfer Malik Heath.
Defense
There was a lot of rotating on defense. Sophomore cornerback Markevious Brown was getting reps with what appeared to mostly be a first-team group of players, though that’s all fluid this early in camp. Central Michigan transfer Troy Brown and TCU transfer Khari Coleman saw reps at linebacker, as did sophomore Austin Keys and senior Ashanti Cistrunk.
Senior Otis Reese, Iowa State transfer Isheem Young, sophomore Tysheem Johnson and Finley worked at nickel and safety with what appeared to be largely the first team, as did sophomore cornerback Kyndrich Breedlove. There was a lot of swapping up front, but it included senior defensive end Tavius Robinson, junior defensive end Cedric Johnson and senior defensive tackle K.D. Hill.
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