OXFORD, Miss. – The Ole Miss football team wrapped up week two of fall camp Friday morning with three transfer players stepping to the podium following practice.
Here are our notes and observations from Friday’s practice. Click HERE for Thursday’s practice report.
Offense
For the first time since his arrival in Oxford, Jaxson Dart will not be in a quarterback battle to start the season. Instead, there is a battle going on behind him as three guys fight to be the future of the program.
Just yesterday, offensive coordinator Charlie Weis Jr. spoke with the media and claimed that a decision on who the backup quarterback will be will likely be decided closer to week one. He also stated that all three — Austin Simmons, Walker Howard, and AJ Maddox — have different skill sets to evaluate.
As far as the playmakers surrounding the quarterbacks, the future of the Ole Miss offense should be in great hands moving forward. Wide receivers Cayden Lee and Ayden Williams are sophomores who will likely break out this year, but Weis Jr. also has players like Noreel White and Dillon Hipp waiting in the wings. Hipp, the freshman tight end, caught my attention today with his size and strength during blocking drills with the other tight ends. The Arizona native is sitting behind a surplus of talent now, but I am certain he will make an impact sooner rather than later.
Also noticed today, recent Utah State transfer Micah Davis was seen today working alongside the other wideouts at full speed. The senior has two Division-I seasons under his belt for Air Force and Utah State, hauling in 46 catches for 849 yards and 8 touchdowns.
For the big boys blocking up front, there has been plenty of movement to watch for throughout the first two weeks. Offensive line coach John Garrison seems to be exploring all the options possible to make sure the Rebels will have all the depth and versatility needed by the start of the season. Today, we saw Southern Miss transfer Gerquan Scott continuing to rep more and more at the center spot, working alongside 2023 starting center Caleb Warren. Also, sophomore Preston Cushman was seen repping in at right tackle, a position he was not seen much at a year ago.
Defense
During the spring, The Rebel Walk got the chance to sit down with Indiana transfer Louis Moore. The senior safety could be one best tacklers on the 2024 squad; however, the secondary in Oxford may be the deepest room on the team. It will be interesting to see how co-defensive coordinator Bryan Brown and safeties coach Wes Neighbors III work with the depth in the Rebel secondary come week one vs. Furman.
The hype behind Suntarine Perkins a year ago was through the roof, but the expectations this year could be even higher. Just yesterday, defensive coordinator Pete Golding claimed many times that in year two you start to see a difference in some of the players as far as football IQ. That seems to be the case with Perkins as it looks like we will see the versatility of the Mississippi native on full display this season. We have seen the sophomore working in the middle of the field, dropping into coverage and mostly working alongside analyst Lou Spanos as an edge rusher.
Also, the more and more we see linebacker TJ Dottery, the more I am convinced that the former Clemson transfer will make a huge impact on the Landshark defense during the 2024 season. I have noticed the sophomore working the most inside at the middle linebacker spot over the past two weeks of camp.
Bouncing off of the coordinator press conferences from yesterday again, Golding also claimed that a few freshmen are expected to make an impact early just as Perkins did a year ago. Expect to see guys like Kam Franklin, William Echoles and TJ Banks on the gridiron this fall. The football guru also stated that the expectation is to have a rotation of 8 to 9 different guys on the defensive line when week one rolls around.
Standouts
- Dillon Hipp (TE)
- Gerquan Scott (OL)
- Suntarine Perkins (Edge/LB)
Up Next
The Ole Miss football team will be back at it next Monday as week three of fall camp will roll on with more press conference availabilities to come as well. Week one against the Furman Paladins is scheduled for August 31st inside Vaught-Hemingway Stadium at 6 pm CT.
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.
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