OXFORD – The start of a new football season is officially here.
Ole Miss, fresh off its third 10-win season in the last four years, started fall practice Tuesday in anticipation of its opener against Georgia State on Aug. 30. The Rebels return just four starters from a season ago and have less fanfare than last year at this time, when they were a preseason top-10 team and a popular pick to make the 12-team College Football Playoff field. Ole Miss narrowly missed the CFP, finished the season 10-3 and ranked 11th in the final AP Poll. The Rebels’ three losses came by a combined 13 points.
“I think we’ve created a standard here … of expectations and what we’ve done. And so, I do take a lot of pride in that,” head coach Lane Kiffin said Tuesday. “ … Three winningest programs since COVID in the SEC, including the new programs, are Georgia, Alabama and Ole Miss. And that’s our expectation, the standards, of how we expect to play.”
The Rebels have made a bowl game in each of Kiffin’s five seasons and have 29 wins over the last three seasons. Three-year starting quarterback Jaxson Dart is gone, however, as are a handful of last year’s top wide receivers, offensive linemen, defensive linemen and defensive backs. A fresh haul of transfer portal talent combined with strong traditional recruiting, though, has Ole Miss believing the future remains bright. Ole Miss’ win total is currently set at 8.5, according to VegasInsider.
“There’s a lot of talent that I don’t think people know about, but we do know about,” senior offensive tackle Jayden Williams said. “I think, with that confidence and … if we put it all together as a team, we’ll be really good.”
Redshirt sophomore Austin Simmons will take over at quarterback for Dart, who left Ole Miss as the program’s all-time leader in passing yards, total offense and wins by a starting quarterback. There are a few key returners – including junior wide receiver Cayden Lee and junior outside linebacker Suntarine Perkins, who had 874 receiving yards and 10.5 sacks last season, respectively – and proven talents from other programs, including senior safety Sage Ryan (LSU), senior wide receiver De’Zhaun Stribling (Oklahoma State) and junior offensive lineman Patrick Kutas (Arkansas).
What players have done in the past is not important, Kiffin noted. These Rebels need to bring intensity day in and day out, regardless of prior accolades.
“There’ll be a lot of competition in this camp, as always, regardless of what players have done before. They heard that last night, and it reflected in practice today,” Kiffin said. “ … I think that this team needs to really have a blue-collar mindset to outwork people and to grind people out in games. So, we’ve been working on that.”
Caleb Odom working with tight ends
Sophomore Caleb Odom – listed as a wide receiver on the team’s official roster – was seen practicing with the tight ends Monday morning at the portion of practice available to the media. The 6-foot-5, 215 pound Alabama transfer was listed as a tight end coming out of Georgia’s Carrollton High School and was a top-100 recruit, per 247Sports. The Rebels return Dae’Quan Wright, who had 394 yards and four touchdowns last year, and added Arkansas’ Luke Hasz in the offseason.
According to Rebel Grove’s Ben Garrett, Hasz suffered an ankle injury and was seen with crutches on his lap in a recent picture posted by tight ends coach Joe Cox on social media. Kiffin noted the Rebels’ deep wide receiver room and that tight end was an opportunity for Odom. Kiffin also said the offense could be even “more dangerous” when they “get Luke back.”
“(Odom) is very unique in what he can do. We did, as you said, move him in there a lot in that area today,” Kiffin said. “And I think that he has a chance to be a weapon there. And we do have, probably, I would say positionally … our best depth on our roster would probably be outside receiver, receiver in general. So, him playing there, I think, makes us even more dangerous.”
Kiffin honors Corey Adams
Kiffin began his press conference Tuesday honoring Corey Adams, a freshman defensive lineman who was killed in a shooting in Cordova, Tennessee on July 19.
“When deputies arrived at the intersection of Forest Hill-Irene and Walnut Grove, they stopped a vehicle, finding an adult male gunshot victim,” a statement on social media from the Shelby County Sherriff’s Office said. “They provided life-saving measures until Shelby County Fire arrived. Shelby County Fire personnel later pronounced the victim deceased on the scene.”
Adams was 18. It is still an active homicide investigation, the sheriff’s office said.
“First time with you guys since the tragic passing of Corey Adams. He was just with us for a short time, but he made a major impact on us by how he worked, who he was, how he led – even as a freshman,” Kiffin said. “(I) told the story at the service here the other night, very rarely do we ever have a freshman that, in offseason conditioning and running, was challenging seniors … And that’s who he was. … Just a tragic, tragic passing.”
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