Ole Miss WR Jordan Watkins discusses playing without Tre Harris, challenges of Death Valley, and strength of Rebel defense
OXFORD, Miss. – No. 9 Ole Miss is set to travel to Baton Rouge this weekend for a top-15 matchup against No. 13 LSU after the Rebels defeated South Carolina 27-3 on Saturday.
In the win, Ole Miss lost arguably its best player, wide receiver Tre Harris, to a lower-body injury late in the second quarter. After halftime without Harris, the Rebels only scored three more points in the entire game, proving Tre’s importance to the team’s production.
Fellow wide receiver Jordan Watkins explained that the team needs to be prepared to play without Harris this weekend.
“I think it’s always just next man up. Losing Tre that game was really concerning for us because some guys haven’t played as much, but it’s next-man-up mentality. I think that’s just how we are as a team, you know someone goes down it’s just next man up.“
– Watkins on playing without Tre Harris
We head to the 4th ‼️ pic.twitter.com/onTmXOx5JD
— Ole Miss Football (@OleMissFB) October 5, 2024
Fortunately for head coach Lane Kiffin and his staff, the Rebel defense was unstoppable in Columbia, limiting any signs of a comeback following Tre’s departure. Gamecocks’ quarterback LaNorris Sellers’ longest pass of the day went for 17 yards, paired with a rushing attack averaging 3.5 yards per carry. Between their 10 tackles-for-loss, fumble recovery, interception, and six sacks, the defense had a special performance over the weekend. Witnessing their greatness from the other side of the ball, Watkins discussed how it feels playing with such a reliable unit.
“We talked about that yesterday—it’s a different feeling knowing you don’t have to go out there and score every drive. We have a really, really good defense. They fly around out there and play really sound… I think the first three drives from South Carolina were three-and-outs, that’s huge as an offense. We didn’t score on the first drive, but the defense has a three-and-out, and we come back and score on the second drive… it’s a great feeling to have your defense out there and make plays.“
– Watkins on the defense
Team of the Week 🦈@PFF_College | #HottyToddy pic.twitter.com/9glN5u3LJB
— Ole Miss Football (@OleMissFB) October 7, 2024
Moving into week seven, Ole Miss will enter a stadium of 100,000+ fans looking for revenge after LSU’s heartbreaking loss in Oxford last season. Though the Rebs were victorious in 2023, the team has not won in Tiger Stadium since 2008, proving to be a difficult place to play.
Jordan Watkins, among many others who played there in 2022, described how he believes the team’s experience can benefit their preparation this time around.
“I think that game in 2022… playing in Death Valley for the first time, I think its going to help out a lot because we have been in that environment already. It’s a very hostile environment. Their fans show up, they’re loud, and just being in that environment once is going to help just a little bit… it’s going to be a great crowd, and we are super excited to get out there and go against LSU on their own turf.“
– Watkins on playing in Tiger Stadium
Up Next
Ole Miss vs. LSU will kick off at 6:30 CT and will be televised on ABC. As always, Hotty Toddy and go Rebs!
