Ole Miss Football Practice Report: Thursday, August 14

OXFORD, Miss. — The Ole Miss football team put in a full day’s work Thursday as the Rebels gear up for this weekend’s scrimmage. Here are some of our notes and observations from today:

Players hit the field in shorts and shoulder pads today.

Wide receiver Cayden Lee has been in a black jersey for much of fall camp, but he practiced in a red jersey today. Regardless of what jersey color he’s been wearing, Lee has been moving at full speed throughout the entire camp.

Today we saw Lee and wide receivers Harrison Wallace III, Deuce Alexander, De’Zhaun Stribling and Izaiah Hartrup all fielding punts. Wide receiver Traylon Ray didn’t participate within the periods available for the media to view. Wide receivers Izaiah Hartup and Joshua Pfeifer also appeared in black jerseys today and also on Monday, but have  been in full motion through drills and plays for the entire week.

LSU transfer defensive lineman Da’Shawn Wommack is another player who previously was wearing a black jersey but was in a regular jersey today and working out in all drills.

Arkansas transfer Patrick Kutas does seem to be at full go for the offensive line, appearing in a red jersey throughout the entire week. His availability is absolutely needed for the Ole Miss o-line. A collection of guys were held out from the media viewing portions, including Diego Pounds and Jayden Williams. (Note: this isn’t a report saying these players are injured. They were both at practice today, with red jerseys on). Today, PJ Wilkins was also not working out, but he was seen working out on an exercise bike at the beginning of practice.

Despite Pounds and Williams not getting a high volume of snaps during media viewing, Percy Lewis, Delano Townsend, and true freshman Devin Harper all made appearances during the two-minute drill against the Rebel defense.

Kewan Lacy continues to impress in the running back room alongside Logan Diggs. Lacy has worked with those who appear to be the “ones” throughout the last two weeks of camp and has looked formidable. Alongside those two players, Troy transfer Damien Taylor also seems to be high on running backs coach Kevin Smith’s list.

Tight end Trace Bruckler once again was given ample opportunities and shined during each rep. Whether excelling as a pass blocker or a pass catcher, Bruckler has really embraced a quality role throughout camp this week. The same can be said for tight end/wide receiver Caleb Odom.

Safety TJ Banks is still in a black (no contact jersey), but he participated in some work on exercise bikes along with some of his teammates. He seems to be in good spirits, moving well. From a viewing perspective, it appears he could be back at full health quicker than expected.In terms of the back end of the Ole Miss defense, one player who continues to stand out is true freshman Dante Core. The cornerback today was playing with the top defense in the spot that has been manned also by Ricky Fletcher and Chris Graves.

From what we saw during the time we were able to observe this morning, the back end defense included linebackers Tahj Chambers and TJ Dottery, corners Antonio Kite and Core, and safeties Nick Cull, Sage Ryan and Kapena Gushiken.

The Rebels hit the practice field again Friday with some portions open to media. Stay tuned for more!