Thursday Practice Report: Ole Miss Tight End Corps Impresses in Red Zone Drills; Offensive Line Shows Great Depth
OXFORD, Miss. – Lane Kiffin’s Ole Miss Football team suited up for another practice this morning, showing what they’ve been doing all spring: bringing high levels of energy, and proving why this team has the potential to be elite.
Here is what went down in the Manning Center.
Tight Ends
Ole Miss possesses an incredible group of tight ends, including Caden Prieskorn, Dae’Quan Wright, Hudson Wolfe, Jayvontay Conner, Dillon Hipp, Salathiel Hemphill, and Wyatt Smalley. All seven of these players were highlighted in today’s practice working on their route-running ability in the red zone with the quarterbacks.
Hipp and Wright stood out to me due to the fact that I had not had much in-person viewing of them prior. For two guys who are both over 6-foot-4, weigh more than 240 pounds, and are going through their first months as Rebels, their speed paired with their ability to catch the football is a promising sight to see.
Offensive Line
We’ve said it time and time again, but John Garrison is working with an offensive line rotation that could be matched up against any defensive line in the country. For me, the size and depth provided by these players continue to stand out in practice.
In terms of positioning during the faster-paced offensive drills (no particular order), we saw Jayden Williams with Diego Pounds at left tackle, Eli Acker and Nate Kalepo at left guard, Caleb Warren with Brycen Sanders at center, Gerquan Scott and Jeremy James at right guard, and finally, Julius Buelow with Mana Taimani at right tackle. Micah Pettus is working his way back from an injury that ended his season last year.
Between the offensive and defensive lines, both groups have done a fantastic job challenging one another, bringing an abundance of competition to every single snap.
Secondary
This is another position group of the Ole Miss team with an overflow of talent within it. Today we saw Brandon Turnage line up against Cayden Lee, Trey Amos on Tre Harris, and John Saunders Jr. on Kedrick Reescano coming out of the backfield.
New additions Key Lawrence and Louis Moore were seen playing safety, along with Jadon Canady, Trey Washington, and Saunders.
Chris Graves, Amorion Walker, Turnage, Amos, and others all took reps in coverage at cornerback. Just like nearly every other position group, the rotations that Pete Golding will be able to work with this fall are going to make an enormous impact on the passing defense of Ole Miss.
Our next opportunity to view practice is set for this Saturday. For more practice reports and all Ole Miss sports updates, make sure to stay tuned with The Rebel Walk!
