Ole Miss Practice Report Friday, August 18: Offensive playmakers rising to the challenge against surging Rebel defense
OXFORD, Miss. — The Rebels knocked out another week of fall camp Friday morning as they move closer to the September 2nd start of the season vs. Mercer at Vaught-Hemingway.
This week of camp was dominated by the defense; however, the playmakers on offense rose to the challenge all week.
Loaded with Playmakers
In the midst of the QB battle and the much-deserved attention on Quinshon Judkins, the playmakers on offense have really made their presence felt all camp long.
Transfer wide receivers Tre Harris and Zahkari Franklin are expected to be the ‘one-two’ punch in the Rebel offense when the season begins, and we all know just how special true freshman Ayden Williams is going to be.
However there are some other players who could have a breakout season, such as Dayton Wade, Bralon Brown and Jordan Watkins. These three wideouts who were on last years roster are now finding themselves in a heavy rotation within the receiver room.
Keep Going 🤟@__vierr | #HottyToddy pic.twitter.com/koSgA1RwLc
— Ole Miss Football (@OleMissFB) August 18, 2023
Wade and Brown both had the chance to speak with the media today.
As a leader in the room, Wade spoke about Brown’s improvements over the past year.
“Play-making ability, everything, when it comes to playing ball, he had it. It was just the small things, beating yourself up, knowing what to do, the too much thinking. Game speed and real speed is totally different…basically what he was saying was his game speed has increased. That comes with knowing what to do and then with him being able to play multiple positions, it made it even better.”
Brown offered his opinions Friday on this Ole Miss offense as a unit.
“We’re a deadly offense. We have all the pieces we need, depth in each room, running backs, quarterbacks, to the receivers and tight ends. We’ve got guys all around the field that are going to make big plays. It’s a blessing to go out and compete with them every day, learn from them. I steal from DWade (Dayton Wade) all the time, Tre Harris all the time. I sit back and watch them take reps and take what they do and apply it to my game, and vice versa.”
Bralon Brown
The depth in the wide receiver room is simply outstanding.
In addition to the receivers mentioned above, JJ Henry returns for his second year and Jalen Knox has been used just as much throughout fall camp as Harris and Williams.
True freshman Cayden Lee has been seen everywhere in the offense and walk-ons Joshua Pfeifer, Drew Burnett and Joshua Aka have grinded their way into the rotation at camp as well.
When mentioning the playmakers, we cannot leave out the loaded tight end room.
Coach Kiffin spoke yesterday about how the improvements in that room have been outstanding. The high praise for Memphis transfer Caden Prieskorn continues and he keeps showing why with his performance in camp.
Michael Trigg and Kyirin Heath are being used in similar roles and each could become big contributors. Hudson Wolfe, who missed a couple of seasons due to back injury, has also finally made his way into the normal TE rotation and looks to make the impact we’ve all known he can.
Here’s everything Lane Kiffin said after Ole Miss practice Thursday, August 17. #HottyToddy https://t.co/k1209XMPci
— The Rebel Walk (@TheRebelWalk) August 18, 2023
Controlling the Line of Scrimmage
From this past Saturday’s scrimmage and carrying over into the week, the Pete Golding defense seems to be clicking on all cylinders.
Yes, it is only practice but the Landsharks have seemed to put it all together as of late, making it really hard at times on the high-powered Rebel offense.
JJ Pegues is a staple on the talented defensive front for the Rebs this year. The ‘hometown hero’ who is from Oxford got the chance to speak with media today on how the front seven has been so dominant recently.
“Coach (Randall) Joyner does a great job just telling us to keep the main thing and just do our jobs and rest the will just play out. I feel like us going into just scrimmages and stuff like that, we just try to make it like a game day. Just because if you don’t do it, a team might slip up on you, you just won’t get the right routine.”
JJ Pegues
JMU transfer Isaac Ukwu spoke with media yesterday, and he also commented on the success the defensive front has had lately.
“When we watch the film for the scrimmages, we have a real critical eye to it. We try not to get too high on ourselves. We have been playing against people who we’ve played against this entire time, so we know their moves and what they’re doing…We acknowledge the good things we did, but we are really just critical of how we could have done things better.”
Isaac Ukwu
Golding’s four hands in the dirt no doubt all revolve around Cedric Johnson. The senior defensive end was named the Chucky Mullins Courage Award winner yesterday, making him the newest to represent the memory of Chucky.
Fellow defensive lineman Pegues commented today on why Johnson earned the award.
“Cedric, I mean he deserves the award. He does everything right and we all in the D-line room go as he goes. When he goes hard, we go hard and he always gives us motivational tools and just extra stuff to just to keep us on the upside and always trying to bring the positive energy. He’s never had negative energy, he deserved the award and I’m happy for him.”
JJ Pegues on Cedric Johnson
Ole Miss defensive end Cedric Johnson has been named the 2023 Chucky Mullins Courage Award Winner! Congrats to Cedric! https://t.co/SJVW7EAWJv
— The Rebel Walk (@TheRebelWalk) August 17, 2023
Notes and observations
Scouts in attendance: NFL scouts have been present at almost all of the practices thus far this fall. On Friday, those in attendance included the New England Patriots, Tennessee Titans, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Carolina Panthers, San Francisco 49ers, Arizona Cardinals, and Cleveland Browns.
QB competition: Jaxson Dart continues to take first team reps for the Rebels and looks as improved as the coaches have reported during spring and fall camp. He did throw an interception Friday as Daijahn Anthony got the better of the Rebel quarterback.
Oklahoma State transfer Spencer Sanders continues to look very strong also. Sanders led the second team against the first team defense at the start of practice Friday. He was in command of the offense and knows when to use his legs. He had a nice touchdown pass to JJ Henry in the corner of the end zone.
Offensive line: Yesterday we reported on the versatility of players on the offensive line, with numerous linemen able to move up and down the line.
On Friday we saw Quincy McGee taking most of the first team reps at guard, in place of Eli Acker. Victor Curne started at first team left tackle at the beginning of practice; however, Jayden Williams — last year’s starter at left tackle — later took reps there. Keep in mind, we are only allowed to be in attendance for a limited portion of practice, so we cannot speak to what happens when we are gone.
Reece McIntyre was at first team center in place of Caleb Warren who continues to work his way back from injury. Warren did participate in position drills.
Injury Report
DBs Teja Young, Nick Cull and AJ Brown were in ‘no-contact’ jerseys again, but they did participate in drills and scrimmage situations. RB Ulysses ‘Doo’ Bentley IV and WR Jordan Watkins were still wearing there ‘no-contact’ jerseys as well, but they did participate in drills.
DB Jason Canady, WR Larry Simmons, WR Qua Davis, LB Skielar Mann and WR Rayf Vinson all continued to don the ‘no-contact’ jersey as well.
DB Demarko Williams joined WR Zakhari Franklin and Safety Ladarius Tennison inside the Manning Center today, continuing to rehab and get ready for the fall.
Up Next
The Rebs will continue to grind away in fall camp next week as the academic year officially kicks off Monday. On September 2nd, Ole Miss will ‘Lock the Vaught’ as the Rebels host Mercer at 1 pm to start the season.
Stay tuned to The Rebel Walk for all your fall camp coverage and other Ole Miss sports updates!
(Feature image credit: Ole Miss Athletics)
Kameron Wicker
Kam is an undergraduate 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.
