Ole Miss holds first scrimmage of fall camp: Rebel defense looks aggressive, controls the day
OXFORD, Miss. — Ole Miss scrimmaged Saturday afternoon inside Vaught-Hemingway, and the new-look Rebel defense played aggressively. The first scrimmage of fall offered head coach Lane Kiffin and staff — which included wide receivers coach Derrick Nix taking the reins as head coach for the day — a look at what is working and what needs improvement.
(Click here to read more about Coach Nix taking over Saturday’s scrimmage as Rebels’ head coach.)
“All the players played hard and I believe we made a good first step today,” said Nix.
“The defense had a good day and caused a lot of problems but the offense had flashes. We just have to get more consistent on that side of the ball and shore some things up. It was the first scrimmage. We will have more and hopefully we will progress accordingly in those. Overall, it was a good start, but we still have a lot to do.”
Derrick Nix
After the scrimmage, defensive end Cedric Johnson offered his assessment.
“I thought we got after the offense pretty good today. I love this defense – it puts us in position to make plays and get away from double teams a lot more.”
Defensive end Cedric Johnson
Johnson notched three tackles and a quarterback sack in his limited action on the day.
Defense showed out 🦈#HottyToddy pic.twitter.com/5MUgQB4cve
— Ole Miss Football (@OleMissFB) August 13, 2023
Defensive performance
New defensive coordinator Pete Golding’s plan seems to be clear — shut down the running game and pressure the quarterback. The Rebel defense did look good against the run and presented a strong pass rush. Golding sent edge blitzes many times Saturday.
The first-team defense has remained the same for most of this month:
Defensive ends: Jared Ivey and Cedric Johnson; Defensive tackles: Joshua Harris and JJ Pegues; Safeties: Daijahn Anthony, Trey Washington and Isheem Young/John Saunders Jr.; Corners: Zamari Walton and Demarko Williams (in for Deantre Prince).
A main storyline heading into and throughout camp has been the installation of Golding’s system, and Nix was impressed with what he saw up front on Saturday.
“I thought (the defense) came out there with a lot of energy and a lot of juice, created I think three turnovers today,” Nix said. “Saw some guys up front like Cedric Johnson go back there and close the pocket a few times. For our first scrimmage, I thought it was pretty good.”
Defensively, from what we saw, Anthony led all players with five tackles, while Suntarine Perkins and Pegues each recorded four. The trio of Jared Ivey, John Saunders and Johnson each notched three. Trey Washington, Isheem Young and Reginald Hughes each made two tackles.
Jamond Gordon led the unit with two sacks Saturday, while Hughes, Isaac Ukwu, Johnson and DeeJay Holmes each recorded one.
Offensive performance
As for the quarterbacks, Jaxson Dart led the first team offense against the first team defense during the first half. His stats were 7-for-9 for 94 yards with 0 touchdowns and one interception. He rushed six times for 16 yards and one TD.
Ready for Scrimmage 1 🎯#HottyToddy pic.twitter.com/zqsnFhSjGf
— Ole Miss Football (@OleMissFB) August 12, 2023
Spencer Sanders split time with the ones and the twos and finished 9-for-17 for 140 yards, 0 touchdowns and one interception. Sanders rushed eight times for 29 yards and one touchdown.
Walker Howard finished 7-for-16 for 75 yards passing. The LSU transfer carried the ball nine times for 14 yards and one TD.
Freshman Austin Simmons was 4-for-9 for 66 yards, 0 TDs and one interception. He finished for -13 yards rushing.
Coach Nix’s wide receiver corps – home to several newcomers – also got solid reviews on Saturday.
“I’ve been very pleased with (the receivers) overall, especially with some of the new guys that have transferred in mixing with some of the guys who have come back,” Nix said.
“I think these guys have shown me the willingness to work over the summer and doing a lot of things on their own, whether that’s catching Jugs, getting extra film work. Going into practice with these guys right now, in my opinion, they’ve got a good start. Very pleased with what I’ve seen so far.”
Coach Nix on the Rebel receivers
True freshman Ayden Williams led the Ole Miss receivers with three catches for 55 yards. Cayden Lee, another true freshman, finished with 46 yards on two receptions. Joshua Pfeifer tallied two catches for 35 yards.
The Rebel tight ends made plenty of catches. Michael Trigg notched two for 40 yards while Kyirin Heath tallied two receptions for 24 yards. Hudson Wolfe caught two for 20 yards and Caden Prieskorn one for 10 yards.
Ole Miss enters 2023 with a deep backfield, and despite tough sledding against an attacking Rebel defensive front on Saturday, it still has the eyes of the coaching staff.
True freshman Kedrick Reescano led the group Saturday with seven carries for 33 yards. Quinshon Judkins finished with 8 yards on 10 carries, and Oregon State transfer Jam Griffin had four yards on four carries. Fred McAfee tallied 11 on one carry.
“I thought today was a pretty good day for everyone, including not just the role players on this offense, but the young guys as well,” Judkins said. “Everybody that’s new to the school is contributing on each side of the ball.”
Coach Nix was pleased with the unit also.
”The whole running back group as a whole has been very dynamic so far during camp,” Nix said. “They’ve been the catalyst on offense, finishing runs, giving great effort.”
News and Notes
The non-contact jersey list remains much the same. Running backs Ulysses Bentley IV and Matt Jones, center Caleb Warren, wide receiver Jordan Watkins, and linebacker Ladarius Tennison remain out. Deantre Prince was not dressed out following dental issues from the previous day.
Coach Kiffin told media Saturday after the scrimmage that linebacker Khari Coleman has been removed from activities for now, while they are investigating the circumstances of his legal situation.
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.
