Football Practice Report: Fall Camp Week 4

OXFORD, Miss. – (Release) Ole Miss football wraps up fall camp this week and will soon fully dive into game prep for next Saturday’s season opener against Georgia State.

Lane Kiffin met with the media Monday to recap the Rebels’ second fall scrimmage this past weekend, and we heard from defensive linemen Da’Shawn Womack and Will Echoles, as well as new specialists Oscar Bird and Lucas Carniero.

Dialing In

Ole Miss is being tried by fire under the mid-August Mississippi sun as it prepares for next Saturday’s opener, as well as its first taste of SEC action on the road just a week later. Kiffin likes where his team is looking in some areas, but the Rebels are still keeping their foot to the pedal in the final days of camp.

“Good practice today out in some good temperature, following a really hard scrimmage Saturday, which was good to see,” Kiffin said Monday.

Lane Kiffin

The defense dominated the first scrimmage and performed well again in the second, but the offense made strides over the week as well, particularly new starting quarterback Austin Simmons. The Rebel offense had a clean scrimmage as it continues to dial in for the opener.

“He played a lot better. Had a good day. Took care of the ball a lot better. The whole offense did,” Kiffin said. “I think there was one turnover on 118 plays, so much better in that area.”

No Fall Off

The defensive line was perhaps the greatest strength on the Ole Miss roster last year. But even with Walter Nolen, Princely Umanmielen, JJ Pegues and Jared Ivey all moved on, the Rebels believe they’ll field another formidable front—and overall defense—in 2025.

“I don’t see any fall off from last year,” Echoles said.

Will Echoles

As Echoles mentioned, the 2025 D-line will be a combination of returners like Echoles, Zxavian Harris, Jamarious Brown and Kam Franklin, along with key portal additions like Princewill Umanmielen and Womack. And it’ll be up to Pete Golding, Randall Joyner and company to put them in the positions to succeed.

“We move around a lot. Pete Golding is the best in the game right now. He’ll move you all over the field so you can rush the passer,” Womack said. “He’s very fun because he buys into everything we do. He’s out there on the field with us, running up and down the sidelines celebrating with us. It’s just fun to play for PG.”

Special Specialists

The special teams units will look almost completely different to Rebel fans, where returning long-snapper Carter Short will be sending it to a new kicker and punter—though like the defense, little fall-off is expected.

Ole Miss was strong at kicker last season with First Team All-American and Lou Groza Award Semifinalist Caden Davis, and they’ll be in a great spot once again with another First Team All-American and Groza Semifinalist in Lucas Carniero transferring in from Western Kentucky, where he went 27-for-31 on field goals and 88-for-88 on PATs over two seasons.

“Big thing for me was the weight room for this offseason, and finding a spot that will help me to get to the next level. That was one of my big goals, to go to the next level. Out of the schools I had offers from, I felt, right when I got here on my visit, this is where I need to be,” Carniero said.

Lucas Carneiro

Ole Miss also figures to be in a similar situation at punter, where it replaces one Australian with another. Fraser Masin was a three-year starter for the Rebels and finished as a Fourth Team All-SEC honoree and Ray Guy Award Semifinalist. He’s also helped to mentor his successor, Oscar Bird, who also came through Prokick Australia to the States.

“It’s offering to travel the world to play almost professional football in a way with the crowds and things like that, and get an education. At my age, I was 22 when I decided to start training to do that, it was a no-brainer,” Bird said. “It’s been a pretty exciting journey so far.”

(Feature image credit: Ole Miss Athletics)