Ole Miss Football Practice Report: Observations from Tuesday, August 22

OXFORD, Miss. — The Ole Miss football team was back at it on the practice field today in full pads and media was allowed to watch the opening periods. 

Here are some observations and notes from Tuesday: 

Offensive line

With four of five starters returning and the addition of some very solid linemen from the transfer portal, offensive line coach John Garrison has the luxury of depth that the Rebels have perhaps not enjoyed as much in the past. 

Currently, we believe the starting five likely will consist of left tackle Jayden Williams, left guard Eli Acker, center Caleb Warren, right guard Jeremy James and right tackle Micah Pettus. 

Center Reece McIntyre has spent most all of fall camp with the ones while Warren has rehabbed from injury. He’s also spent some time at left guard. 

We look for a couple of transfer portal additions to see the field a lot this season: Victor Curne (Washington) and Quincy McGee (UAB). 

Versatility continues to show with these linemen. Today we saw Warren actually take some snaps at left guard, while Warren was at center. Throughout fall camp, Curne has been at guard and tackle with the starting group, while McGee has worked at both guard positions with the ones, as well. 

Wide receivers

The wide receiver room continues to have a number of players who are not a full-go due to injury, including: Jordan Watkins, Larry Simmons, Jeremiah Dillon, Qua Davis and Zakhari Franklin. 

Dillon, Watkins and Davis have been running routes in practice but have had no contact. Franklin and Simmons were not out on the practice field today, but instead have been inside the IPF rehabbing. 

Fortunately, the Rebels still have plenty of talented wide receivers who are healthy in: Tre Harris, Dayton Wade, Cayden Lee, Ayden Williams, Bralon Brown, and Jalen Knox. 

Light work 😮‍💨@_treharris13 | #HottyToddy pic.twitter.com/BYwkXQYkoM

— Ole Miss Football (@OleMissFB) August 22, 2023

The pass, then the catch 🔥@JalenKnox9 | #HottyToddy pic.twitter.com/Hb1qUiHK3A

— Ole Miss Football (@OleMissFB) August 19, 2023

From the early portions of practice we were allowed to see, Harris, Wade and Lee ran with the ones. Brown, Knox and Williams were with the twos. 

Defensive notes 

Transfer defensive tackle Stephon Wynn was seen with the ones today, while we have usually seen Zxavian Harris or Joshua Harris at the spot opposite of Oxford native JJ Pegues. The starting defensive ends were Cedric Johnson and Jared Ivey. 

Monty Montgomery and Jeremiah Jean-Baptiste were the first-team linebackers today, while the safeties were Trey Washington, Daijahn Anthony and John Saunders. The corners were AJ Brown and transfer Zamari Walton. Miami transfer Chris Graves, who was recently officially added to the roster, was also working with the corners. 

Injury Report

Several players continue wearing the black no-contact jerseys. Those include: running back Kedrick Reescano, safety Teja Young, wide receiver Rayf Vinson and cornerback Jadon Canady. 

Cornerbacks DeShawn Gaddie and Demarko Williams were in black no-contact jerseys today. Linebacker Ladarius Tennison joined Franklin and Simmons rehabbing inside the IPF.

In some good news, running back Ulysses Bentley IV was back at full speed today after being in the black jersey for almost two weeks. 

Non-injury notes

Linebacker Khari Coleman is back in practice as a full participant as we reported yesterday. Cornerback Deantre Prince, who was not at practice Monday following a DUI arrest this weekend, was back and practicing today. 

Number changes

There have been some number changes on the roster, including: 

• Quarterback Austin Simmons has changed from No. 8 to No. 13.
• Tight end Michael Trigg is now wearing No. 81 instead of No. 0.
• Tight end Kirin Heath is now wearing No. 88 instead of No. 13.
• Newcomer transfer Graves is wearing No. 32.