OXFORD, Miss. – On Monday morning at the Manning Center practice facility, the Ole Miss football team kicked off the second week of fall camp with the first official day of full pads.
The Rebel Walk was there and has these notes on practice.
Offense
One Rumor Disproved
Over the weekend, a number of Rebels were on edge over rumors that spread about senior quarterback Jaxson Dart being injured. These untrue and unsubstantiated rumors ran rampant across opposing teams’ message boards. Those rumors were put to bed quickly, and today, the Rebel signal caller trotted back out for another fall camp practice — looking in perfect health.
Practice Report – Who Stood Out?
Getting into the actual football now, redshirt freshman quarterback and two-sport star Austin Simmons really turned heads today. The lefty gunslinger, who also plays baseball, seemed to take control of the offense today during his reps, ripping passes to his receivers and finding sophomore wideout Cayden Lee often.
Speaking of the receivers, Florida Atlantic transfer Devin Price continues to catch my eye just as he did in the spring. The big-bodied pass catcher is a crisp route runner and is not afraid to get physical with defensive backs. Also, with Jordan Watkins taking things slow, Cayden Lee worked in the slot where I would assume he will make a future throughout the 2024 season.
Going into the ‘revamped’ running back room, Rashad Amos turned my head today with just his size alone. The Miami of Ohio transfer is listed at 6’1 and 235 pounds to begin fall camp and runs hard to back it up.
In the trenches on offense, Gerquan Scott stood out to me today. The Southern Miss transfer stepped into that guard spot, where he has plenty of experience, in place of Nate Kalepo who seems to be easing his way into fall camp. Micah Pettus was back out there at his regular tackle spot today as well, also standing out size-wise as he is listed at 6’7, 350 pounds on the updated roster.
Defense
Defensive Line
Up front on that loaded defensive line unit in Oxford this season, it was true freshman Kam Franklin who stood out today. The size and length may remind Rebel fans of a familiar face, Jared Ivey, who has been seen working side-by-side with the Mississippi native. The one thing for Franklin that continues to amaze me, though, is the speed off the line that the former highly-touted prospect has shown already. Along with other true freshman defensive lineman William Echoles, I would expect Franklin to see the field early for Golding come fall.
Linebackers
Although it was just the first official day of full pads practice, the linebackers spent much of their time soaking in the lessons form their position coaches. TJ Dottery and Suntarine Perkins were seen off to the side away from the other linebackers, obviously locked into what defensive coordinator Pete Golding had to say.
Secondary
On the back end of the Landshark defense, Isaiah Hamilton continues to look like ‘the guy’ when it comes to guarding the number one wideout. Today, the Houston transfer ran step after step with guys like Tre Harris and Ayden Williams with Trey Amos still taking things lightly. Along with Hamilton was Chris Graves Jr., who is looking to build off the strong end to his first campaign in Oxford a year ago.
Returning from last year’s squad, cornerback Jarell Stinson also saw a significant amount of action today. The junior showed off some impressive speed, guarding guys like Cayden Lee and Noreel White during his reps.
Safeties coach Wes Neighbors III has his hands full as well with a surplus amount of talent to work with over the top of that 2024 Rebel defense. Despite all the changes throughout every position in Oxford, the safety position will likely be the most exciting to see play out. Senior leaders Trey Washington and John Saunders Jr. both returned, however there a plenty of new faces to keep your eye on throughout the remainder of camp.
Today’s standouts
- WR Devin Price
- QB Austin Simmons
- CB Jarell Stinson
Up Next
The Rebels will continue to put in the work on the gridiron throughout the remainder of the summer, leading up to a week-one matchup against the FCS opponent, Furman Paladins, on August 31st.
Stay tuned to The Rebel Walk for more updates through fall camp.
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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.
