Tysheem Johnson impressed with Rebels’ defensive efforts, but knows there’s always room for improvement
OXFORD, Miss. – As Tysheem Johnson was about to address members of the media after Monday’s practice, he accidentally knocked his cellphone off the podium.
It was about the only miscue he has made.
The sophomore safety notched a game-high 12 tackles, six of them solo stops, in Ole Miss’s 28-10 win over Troy Saturday. The 12 tackles is a career high for Johnson. Apart from the success, Johnson was happy just to be on the field again.
“It felt good. It was the first game since January,” Johnson said in the press conference following Monday’s practice. “I was just really excited to get out there (after) fall camp, scrimmages, walkthroughs and practices, I was just ready to play. It felt good.”
The Rebels’ defense only allowed Troy 60 yards rushing by using several players. With Ole Miss having the ability to rotate players in and out of the game, Johnson sees a strength in his team.
“I like the depth we got,” Johnson said. “When one goes out, another comes out right behind us. We know we’re going to go balls to the wall every day to try and make the same impact we are.”
Tysheem Johnson
Another thing that impressed Johnson was the play of the Ole Miss linebacking corps. Transfers Khari Coleman, Troy Brown and veteran Austin Keys helped keep the Trojan offense bottled up all afternoon
“They played outstanding, Khari, Troy, Austin, I think we got great linebackers,” Johnson said. “They are filling big shoes that we had to replace from last year in Mark (Robinson) and Chance (Campbell) so I think we’re moving in the right direction.”
Austin recorded four tackles, Coleman eight and Brown 11. Five of Coleman’s stops were behind the line of scrimmage.
Another new player that impressed Johnson was true freshman cornerback Davison Igbinosun who had five tackles in his first college game. Igbinosun has impressed players and coaches since he arrived on campus in January as an early enrollee. Johnson sees a bit of himself in the young player.
“(The team) respects him a lot, he’s a great player,” Johnson said.
“Since he first came in, I knew like he was kind of like similar to how I was, how I came in last year. He kind of had the same mindset and like he’s out there making plays from day one so he’s going to be great. He’s going to be a big contributor to our success this season.“
Tysheem Johnson on true freshman Davison Igbinosun
Senior safety A.J. Finley noticed Johnson’s play as much as any other player on the defense.
“I know Tysheem, he’s a really good player,” Finley told The Rebel Walk.
“Every time Tysheem steps on the field, I know what I’m getting from him and that’s everything he got. So seeing him come out and do what he did, it feels good to know that I’ve got somebody out there with me that’s going to give it their all.”
Ole Miss safety AJ Finley on Tysheem Johnson
So, with the opening-game success, where does Johnson see his game improving heading into week two?
“Just the little things, having good eyes, cleaning up my footwork,” Johnson said. “Keep tackling good in practice, just trying to clean up all the little stuff, that’s about it.”
Next Up:
Ole Miss is in action again Saturday when Central Arkansas visits Vaught-Hemingway Stadium. Kickoff is set for 6 p.m.
(Feature image credit: Dan Anderson, The Rebel Walk)
Steve Barnes
Steve Barnes joins The Rebel Walk staff as a senior writer and brings a trifecta of journalistic experience. As a writer, he has covered college sports for Rivals.com, Football.com and SaturdayDownSouth.com as well as served as a beat writer for various traditional newspapers.
He has been a broadcaster for arena football and several national tournament events for the National Junior College Athletic Association as well as hosting various shows on radio.
A former sports information director at Albany (Ga.) State University and an assistant at Troy and West Florida, he has helped host many NCAA conference, regional and national events, including serving five years on the media committee of the NCAA Division II World Series.
Barnes, a native of Pensacola, Fla., attended Ole Miss in 1983-84, where his first journalism teacher was David Kellum. The duo has come a long way since that time.
He will bring a proven journalistic track record, along with a knack for finding the out-of-the-ordinary story angles to The Rebel Walk.
Barnes continues to reside in Pensacola a mere ten minutes from the beach because he does have taste and a brain.
