Ole Miss Football Practice Report, July 29: Rebels back in full action for first time in 2025 fall camp

OXFORD, Miss. — Excitement surrounds the upcoming season for Ole Miss football as the Rebels began day one of fall camp Tuesday morning.

we are so back 😤 pic.twitter.com/JOmOSiCBEn

— Ole Miss Football (@OleMissFB) July 29, 2025

Head coach Lane Kiffin’s squad returns with a plethora of new faces, and his players and coaches looked ready to hit the ground running today. It’s worth pointing out that media practice viewing is limited to 11 August practices with approximately the first 40 minutes open to the media.

First off, it’s worth pointing out that most of the players who were out due to injury in spring camp are now back in business on the field. We saw linebacker T. J. Dottery, defensive end Suntarine Perkins, QB AJ Maddox, wide receiver Traylon Ray, cornerback Chris Graves, offensive tackles Diego Pounds and Jayden Williams, and wide receiver Samari Reed all back playing again.

New showrunner

As Jaxson Dart’s historic reign has come to an end in Oxford, all eyes now pivot to new QB1 Austin Simmons. It was clear in today’s practice that Simmons has put in much work throughout the offseason, as media present watched as he hit his targets precisely and a strong connection with his receivers. Simmons already seems to be in great coordination with the entire offense.

It’s the most wonderful time of the year!! Fall camp has started and here is QB1 Austin Simmons with the throw to Dillon Alfred. #HYDR 🔥

(🎥: @TheDaylanShow, Rebel Walk) pic.twitter.com/WZudseA2a0

— The Rebel Walk (@TheRebelWalk) July 29, 2025

With the entire coaching staff retained from the 2024 team, Charlie Wise Jr. and Joe Judge already have a strong relationship with Simmons, important for the continuity of the quarterback room.

With Simmons taking over the helm as QB1, much discussion will follow throughout the fall to get a grasp on the depth chart at the position. On day one, AJ Maddox, Trinidad Chambliss, and Shawqi Itraish all rotated in with much opportunity to showcase their abilities on day one.

Running Backs and Offensive Line: 

Many questions from the Ole Miss fan base and media have surrounded the ground game. Running backs coach Kevin Smith and offensive line coach John Garrison have worked over the last few months to strengthen their units. A strong portal class, talented newcomers and the return of now-healthy players will be a huge catalyst for the run game in 2025.

Coach Kiffin mentioned this at SEC Media Days.

Lane Kiffin during 2025 SEC Media Days

With a big makeover in the running back room, a lot of anticipation surrounds what this new group can do to be a force in 2025. Logan Diggs, the former Notre Dame and LSU player, is back and seems to be fully ready to go. He moved through camp with no knee brace today.  Along with the return of Dominique Thomas, Ole Miss added transfers Kewan Lacy and Damien Taylor to go along with incoming freshman standout Shekai Mills-Knight, and the room seems to be poised for much improvement.

Lacy stood out at today’s practice. He’s got great pace and size coming out of the backfield, and the former Missouri back seems ready to break out in 2025. His ability to split in between gaps quickly will be huge for Ole Miss this season, especially after the Rebs finished in the bottom half in redzone scoring in the conference last season.

With injuries plaguing much of the starting offensive line last season, a lot of internal pieces return to the team. Jayden Williams is back, after appearing in six games last season. Today, he was at right tackle with returnee Diego Pounds at left. Transferring from North Carolina ahead of the 2024 season, Pounds took over the starting left tackle role last season after Williams’ injury, and he provides depth and competition for Garrison’s crew this fall.

Brycen Sanders spent a majority of the time at center, while UAB transfer Delano Townsend was at left guard and Charlotte transfer PJ Wilkins was at right.

Wide Receivers and tight ends

It seems the receiver room gets better every year for Lane Kiffin’s offense, and that is no different in 2025. Wide receiver Cayden Lee and tight end Dae’Quan Wright are the two key returners from last season’s team, but the targets available for Austin Simmons we saw today seemed to be poised in every aspect of their game.

Lee set the standard, working with NFL quarterbacks this offseason. He appears to have added some muscle to his stature since spring ball. Izaiah Hartrup, Caleb Odom, and Traylon Ray all looked really strong today, and their efforts to catch any and every ball were noticeable. Their route-running stood out to me.

Odom, a highly-touted transfer receiver from Alabama, is an interesting case as his current role seems to be a toss up at this exact moment due to the injury of Arkansas transfer tight end Luke Hasz. For what it’s worth, the 6-5, 215-pound Odom did play close to the line of scrimmage, but it’s just the first practice.

De’Zhaun Stribling seems to be the real deal. Listed at 6-foot-2 200 lbs, Stribling is in great shape and showcased some great endzone catches. The Oklahoma State transfer totaled 882 yards and six touchdown catches on 52 receptions with the Cowboys last season.

stribcity 🤙@Dezhaunthegreat x #HottyToddy pic.twitter.com/W1ipZTsgMO

— Ole Miss Football (@OleMissFB) July 29, 2025

Much hype surrounds the arrival of five-star freshman Caleb Cunningham, the No. 1-ranked recruit in the state of Mississippi, as well. Today, he took multiple reps, showing great abilities to get to the middle of the field and make himself open at any time.

Defensive Line and Linebackers

After a fantastic season from the Rebels’ 2024 defensive line, we saw a lot of faces today that didn’t get to play much last season. They are now primed and ready to lead the Ole Miss defense.

During a fireside chat with Chris Beard this summer, defensive coordinator Pete Golding mentioned that he feels there won’t be much drop off from last season’s defensive line to this season’s.

Princewill Umanmielen immediately stood out, framing out at 6-5 245 lbs. and looking to be in fantastic shape. The work put in during the offseason was evident, as he showcased great hand placement and quick feet movement off the line of scrimmage. Umanmielen clearly has spent a lot of time preparing for the 2025 season.

Zxavian Harris is one player who appears ready to be the main guy this season. A vocal leader during the camp, he was loud and patient with his peers today, helping out in every aspect.

Kam Franklin, Da’Shawn Womack, and William Echoles also returned in great shape, and they likely will cause fits for opposing players. A strong belief among this line is that they can compete at the highest level again, and so far I would not doubt it.

Much hype surrounds Suntarine Perkins’ return this season. On Monday he was named to the Bronko Nagurski Trophy Watch List. After finishing just shy of the program’s single-season sack record last year, the Second-Team preseason All-SEC player looks to accomplish even more this season. Perkins was in full-season mode during day one today. In top shape, his speed and quick hip movements were truly impressive.

TJ Dottery and Tyler Banks looked to be men amongst boys today. Both players seemed to put in much work in the weight room this offseason, Banks’ speed was noticeable every time he went downhill to attack the quarterback. As with Zxavian Harris, Banks and Dottery were very vocal; on every possession they never hesitated to communicate with each player on the defense. Tahj Chambers also saw many opportunities on the field today.

Secondary: 

A lot of question marks seemed to be present for coach Wes Neighbors and the Ole Miss secondary coming out of spring ball. The impact of the additons of Jaylon Braxton and Sage Ryan were evident today. Both players were versatile and were all over the field for the defense.

Chris Graves Jr. and Ricky Fletcher stood out the most to me from the corner positions. Fletcher, coming in at 6-3 200 lbs, seemed to take control of every moment during the periods. His length and athleticism will make him a true problem for opposing receivers.

Transfers Antonio Kite and Kapena Gushiken fit in really well with the defense today, with Golding seemingly very high on both players. Kite was working at CB along with Clemson transfer Tavoy Feagin.

Today was just day one, so take what you will, but football is back! Our next viewing opportunity will take place this coming Friday, so stay tuned to The Rebel Walk.