Tuesday Practice Report: Ole Miss preparing for a top-25 road matchup against Tulane
OXFORD, Miss. — Ole Miss football was back at work on the practice field Tuesday morning, three days after dismantling Mercer, 73-7, in the season opener.
One thing we’ve been asked frequently is when will UTSA transfer wide receiver Zakhari Franklin make his return from injury? While he’s still not participating in drills with the receivers, Franklin was in full pads for the first time we have seen this season. He was doing some agility drills, and while it’s doubtful we see him this weekend, it does appear Franklin is getting closer.
Additional Injury updates:
Rebels wearing the black non-contact jersey include wide receiver Qua Davis and safety Isheem Young. However, of note, tight ends Hudson Wolfe and Caden Prieskorn and wide receivers Jeremiah Dillon and Larry Simmons were not on the practice field and were inside rehabbing in the Manning Center.
Speaking of tight ends, the Rebels were already missing Prieskorn, who had surgery last week and will be out 2-3 weeks, before the Mercer game. Unfortunately, Hudson Wolfe has now joined Prieskorn on the injured list. Wolfe suffered an injury against Mercer, and while that has been speculated to be a collarbone injury, we do not have that confirmed. Regardless, we do not expect to see Hudson against Tulane but will keep you updated as information becomes available.
Michael Trigg
After sitting out the first half against Mercer due to disciplinary reasons, tight end Michael Trigg entered the game in the second half and caught three passes for 44 yards.
At Tuesday’s practice, Trigg — who was back to wearing his No. 0 jersey — was no longer working with the scout team and seems to have made his way back in to the rotation with the others.
Jaxson Dart – starting QB
For those who missed it, in Monday’s press conference we were given a depth chart and quarterback Jaxson Dart was listed as the sole starting QB, as opposed to the “OR” that had been listed between his and Spencer Sanders’ name going into the Mercer game.
In today’s game notes handed out at the presser, we were given a depth chart. On it, Jaxson Dart is now listed at QB….without an “OR” beside his name. #QB1 pic.twitter.com/s3j6Z6rI8Q
— The Rebel Walk (@TheRebelWalk) September 4, 2023
Dart performed very well against Mercer, going 18-of-23 for 334 yards and four touchdowns with no interceptions. Dart finished with a 95.9 ESPN Total QBR ranking, an excellent metric used to analyze a quarterback’s performance. That was good enough for No. 7 in the country.
Pro Football Focus ranked Dart No. 1 following his week-one performance.
Highest graded Quarterbacks from Week 1⭐️ pic.twitter.com/f0KADafbHt
— PFF College (@PFF_College) September 5, 2023
Suffice it to say, the USC transfer responded well to the QB competition and should head into the Tulane game with plenty of confidence.
Defensive notes
In the above-mentioned depth chart, we also took note of the fact that it appears the Rebels will be going from the 4-2-5 scheme they were in against Mercer to a 3-4 against Tulane.
Cedric Johnson is listed in this week’s depth chart as an outside linebacker; whereas, he was labeled a defensive end against the Bears. Additionally, you’ll note that Ladarius Tennison “OR” Suntarine Perkins are listed as the number one outside linebacker opposite of Johnson.
Former five-star recruit and true freshman Perkins led the Rebels in tackles with nine against Mercer, four of which were solo. He recorded one tackle-for-loss and one sack.
Moving up the Rankings
Ole Miss has moved up two spots in both the AP Top 25 Rankings and the Coaches Poll, sitting at No. 20 in each this week.
MOVIN’ ON UP: Ole Miss football moves up two spots in both AP Top 25 and Coaches Poll rankings this week. Tulane’s in there, too. #HYDR https://t.co/Y519RWmI3T
— The Rebel Walk (@TheRebelWalk) September 5, 2023
Top 25 Matchup this week 🚫🐀☠️@AP_Top25 | #HottyToddy pic.twitter.com/vDdMBcD2yQ
— Ole Miss Football (@OleMissFB) September 5, 2023
Stay tuned
While we don’t have any more media availability at practice for the week, we will be on the SEC Coaches Weekly Teleconference Wednesday and will let you know what Coach Kiffin has to say.
Game Info
Ole Miss and Tulane will kick off Saturday, September 9 at 2:30 p.m. The game will be broadcast on ESPN2.
(Feature image credit: Josh McCoy, Ole Miss Athletics)
Evelyn Van Pelt
Evelyn has covered sports for over two decades, beginning her journalism career as a sports writer for a newspaper in Austin, Texas. She attended Texas A&M and majored in English. Evelyn's love for Ole Miss began when her daughter Katie attended the university on a volleyball scholarship. Evelyn created the Rebel Walk in 2013 and has served as publisher and managing editor since its inception.
