Kelly, Engram and Jones will represent Ole Miss at SEC Media Days
Ole Miss will have plenty of leadership at next week’s Southeastern Conference Media Days in Hoover, Alabama with three seniors paving the way for the Rebels.
In addition to head coach Hugh Freeze, Ole Miss will be represented by quarterback Chad Kelly, tight end Evan Engram and defensive tackle D.J. Jones. The Rebels are one of five SEC schools (Alabama, Arkansas, Mississippi State and Tennessee) that will represented by all seniors.
Evan Engram, shown here after making a catch in the Sugar Bowl, will be a two-time representative for Ole Miss at SEC Media Days. (Photo credit: Amanda Swain, The Rebel Walk)
All three seniors will have a microscope on them during the course of the 2016-17 college football season.
Kelly, considered by many to be the top quarterback in the SEC, can be mentioned as one of the best quarterbacks in the nation, as he was named to the Maxwell Award Watch List on Monday, Last season Kelly finished with a 4,000-plus passing yard season and led Ole Miss to victory in the 2016 Allstate Sugar Bowl.
Engram, who is on the John Mackey Award Watch List for the third season in a row, is just as important as Kelly with his athletic ability to engage in blocking for the passing and running game and to open up holes for easy passes from Kelly. Engram will be a two-time representative for the Rebels at SEC Media Days, as he attended last year also.
Last season, Jones, a junior college transfer, made his presence felt immediately as he appeared in 13 games for the Rebels. After Issac Gross went down with a neck injury, the 6-foot, 324 Jones stepped in and finished with 40 tackles (5 1/2 for loss) and recorded four sacks.
D.J. Jones (93) makes his presence felt in the Alabama game last season. (Photo credit: Bentley Breland, The Rebel Walk)
SEC Media Days will kick off on Monday, July 11 with Auburn, Florida and Vanderbilt leading the way. The Rebels will go on Thursday, July 14, which will mark the final day of SEC Media Days. Ole Miss will be joined by LSU and South Carolina.
Television
The SEC Network will televise all of SEC Media Days. Click here for the schedule of coverage.
(Feature image credit: Amanda Swain, The Rebel Walk)
Courtney Smith
Courtney is from Memphis and received his Bachelor's Degree in Fine Arts from the University of Memphis in May of 2014. He began his journalism career covering the Memphis Tigers Men's basketball team, which landed him an intern position on 730 Yahoo Sports Radio and a position with Rivals.com. A freelance writer for the Associated Press, Courtney is also a member of The Rebel Walk team and reports regularly on Ole Miss football and basketball. Courtney, the father of a six-year old girl named Soniyah, prefers to cover NCAA basketball and football, but is happy to report on any other sport that comes his way.
