Ole Miss Football Practice Report: Observations from Monday, August 21
OXFORD, Miss. — The Rebs are twelve days away from taking the field and everything seems to be falling in place as of late, including some players who are making an impact on both sides of the ball.
Players Making an Impact in Fall Camp
Reggie Hughes
Senior outside linebacker Reggie Hughes was the only player at his position on the current roster when defensive coordinator Pete Golding arrived in Oxford from Alabama in January. The ‘buck’ position is what Golding calls it, and Hughes seems to have embraced that role to the fullest.
“Outside linebacker is kind of my home. I already played outside linebacker prior to Ole Miss, so it’s just getting back comfortable for me. So, like that was a skillset I already had. Just getting back comfortable with it I think is great.”
Reggie Hughes
Hughes came into Ole Miss for the 2022 season, a middle linebacker out of Northeast Mississippi CC. Although he was ranked the No. 1 JUCO linebacker and No. 10 overall prospect by 247Sports, he did not see the field much before Spring, 2023.
But, now the senior edge rusher has made a huge impact on the transition of the new defensive scheme and could be a very big factor in the performance of this year’s defense.
Hughes discussed today what it has been like working with his group and Coach Golding.
“He’s been great. Like I said, the standard that he holds me to, it’s a high standard and I don’t look at being held to a high standard as a bad thing. Being held to a high standard is only going to bring the best outta you. So it’s been great just learning a lot of things. I can say that I learned more about the game schematically-wise since I’ve been working with them.”
Reggie Hughes
Caden Prieskorn
One of the biggest and immediate impacts on this team in fall camp comes in the form of tight end Caden Prieskorn. The talented senior from Memphis joined the Rebs in the spring, and has already been named to the leadership council by his teammates.
Prieskorn, spoke to media today on where that leadership comes from.
“I feel like it has come from just basically my story in the past. After walking on at Memphis as a quarterback and working my way up, I just feel like I had to do everything right to get where I’m at today. I feel like I have a lot of that quarterback in me from my high school days… so I always gotta do the right thing. I’m one of those people, I like to lead by example, so I always do the right thing on and off the field, so I feel like that’s what helps me.”
Caden Prieskorn
QB Watch
As it has been throughout fall camp, the quarterback competition continues to be much the same. Jaxson Dart appears, to our eyes for the amount of practice we are able to watch, to be practicing with the first team. Today, we watched him throw a red-zone TD pass to Louisiana Tech transfer Tre Harris who continues to be impressive.
Not to be outdone, Oklahoma State transfer Spencer Sanders also had a nice red zone touchdown throw over the middle to Ulysses Bentley.
Experience in the Trenches
Offensive line
The big boys moving the line for the Rebs this year return the most experience out of any group. Starting offensive tackles Jayden Williams and Micah Pettus are both back after performing at the highest level as freshmen starters last year. Jeremy James and Eli Acker return at guard, along with Caleb Warren and Reece McIntyre taking the snaps at center. Transfers Victor Curne and Quincy McGee are also receiving a lot of praise in the room and continue to be the main players in rotation on the line.
On Monday after practice, I asked Jayden Williams about what all that experience means as the season approaches.
“We’ve got transfers like Vic (Curne) and Quincy (McGee), and me and other guys who have played a lot of football games. Our room feels like the leaders of the team. We push everybody else and they push us too.”
Jayden Williams
Defensive line
The opposite side of the Rebels’ line, the defensive front, could be the most talented room for the Rebs in quite some time. Jared Ivey, Cedric Johnson and JJ Pegues are all returning starters from last year’s squad. All three look to make huge leaps in their game.
Six-foot-eight, 335-pound defensive tackle Zxavian Harris also returns from last year’s roster. The sophomore saw limited time last year, but I’d expect the ‘monster-of-a-man’ to be right in the middle of things this season.
As far as the experience from the guys who transferred in, there is a lot of talent there, as well. Joshua Harris, Stephon Wynn Jr. and Isaac Ukwu are all seniors with starting experience under their belt at their previous schools. Akelo Stone is a junior who seems to be ready to make an immediate impact as well.
Injury Report
On Monday, defensive backs Teja Young and AJ Brown were in ‘no-contact’ jerseys again, but they did participate in drills and scrimmage situations.
Running back Ulysses ‘Doo’ Bentley IV and wide receiver Jordan Watkins were still wearing their ‘no-contact’ jerseys as well, but they did participate in drills. Bentley did get repped during the scrimmage as well.
Defensive back Jadon Canady, wide receivers Jeremiah Dillion, Larry Simmons, Qua Davis, and Rayf Vinson, along with linebacker Skielar Mann all continued to don the ‘no-contact’ jersey as well. Defensive back Deshawn Gaddie Jr. is the newest addition to the ‘no-contact’ group.
Defensive back Demarko Williams returned from his rehab inside the IPF. Wide receiver Zakhari Franklin and safety Ladarius Tennison continue to stay inside and rehab their injuries.
Non-injury notes
Linebacker Khari Coleman was a full participant in practice today, returning after being absent all of last week due to legal proceedings. Cornerback Deantre Prince was not in attendance today following an arrest over the weekend for first offense driving under the influence.
Up Next
We will have media access to practice Tuesday and Thursday of this week. Then, the following week, the normal game-week schedule begins. In just under two weeks, Ole Miss will host Mercer in the Vaught. Have your popcorn ready and tune into ESPN+ at 1 pm on September 2nd!
(Feature image credit: Josh McCoy, Ole Miss)
Kameron Wicker
Kam is a senior at Ole Miss, currently pursuing a degree in Journalism. Even though he's from Delhi, Louisiana, that didn't stop Kam from growing up a diehard Ole Miss fan. He's a sports guru who watches and follows all sports at all times. He lettered four years in football and baseball in high school and is an avid Saints, Pelicans, and Astros fan. In his free time, you can find him watching sports or at the rec participating in them.
