Ole Miss Preseason Camp Report: Trigg’s back, but there’s a catch …

Ole Miss football on Sunday took a day off from preseason training camp.

But the Rebels were back on the grind on Monday, holding a two-and-a-half-hour workout in shorts, shoulder pads and helmets on a day when we were anticipating full pads.

Of course, the number one subject on everyone’s mind is the fate of Tight End Michael Trigg. The talented but troubled Trigg did indeed dress out for Monday’s practice. But it looked as if he was demoted to the scout team for now after being kicked out of practice Saturday. This after last week claiming he was in a better place mentally.

Despite rampant rumors, he was not dismissed from the team.

With Trigg demoted, Kyirin Heath took his place with the “big boys” and seemed to be holding his own along with Caden Prieskorn. The fact that Heath was ahead of Hudson Wolfe left us wondering about Wolfe’s availability when full contact comes around Thursday (we were told).

Wolfe has missed the better part of two years with back problems, but has looked pretty good so far in camp and has not been in a jersey signifying injury or no contact.

“Keep helping him grow on and off the field,” Prieskorn previously told the Ole Miss Spirit, when asked how he and Trigg could potentially compliment each other in the crowded Ole Miss tight end room.

“He’s got all the talent in the world. He can line up at receiver, he can line up in the slot (and) he can line up at tight end. He’s special. Got to keep buying in and doing the right things. His talent’s to the ceiling. He can take this thing a long way. Just keep going.”

Now, for some additional practice observations …

Ole Miss freshman OL Brycen Sanders

We have written almost extensively about the “Big 3” true freshmen ..

… in LB Suntarine Perkins, RB Kedrick Reescano and WR Ayden Williams. They deserve every bit of the ink they have gotten, but this coaching staff brought in some other true freshmen who were good evaluations as well.

CB A.J. Brown, Center Brycen Sanders and TE Jayvontay Conner went through spring training and showed up there also. They’ve taken up where they left off.

Newbie freshmen that are doing good things are DE DeeJay Holmes Jr., DE Chamberlain Campbell, DT Jamarious Brown and S Daniel Demery. None seem ready to get in the fray just yet. Still, with some seasoning and weight room work, they could be very good in years to come.

And then there is QB Austin Simmons.

We have written about him a lot, but let us reiterate: Simmons seems more mature than his 17 years on the planet. And he throws BBs.

The point of these graphs? This coaching staff did a really good job of evaluating portal players. It seems the evaluations of the true freshmen were just as good, from a future standpoint. Yes, the class was small. But there doesn’t look like many guys who they will be sorry they signed at this juncture.

Ole Miss QB Austin Simmons

The green jerseys signifying no contact/injured …

… seem to have picked up a player or two since Saturday night’s practice.

S Teja Young, s Jadon Canady, LB Skielar Mann, C Caleb Warren, WR Qua Davis, WR Mac Owen, WR Zakhari Franklin were still in green. OL Ethan Fields is now in green, and it appears WR Larry Simmons may be joining them tomorrow. He he limped off the field holding his groin during the practice session.

Young and Davis are taking some full speed reps, but the rest are not yet. Young looks to be one of the fastest players on the team in the reps we have watched of him covering receivers. Kid can run.

If there is anything seriously wrong with Simmons, it really is a shame. The young man looks like he has put on about 10-15 pounds and he was having a good camp. He was competing well for a place in the WR rotation.

Based on practice reps, and as much as we can tell the way practices are run, the top receivers at this point are. . . .

. . . . in no particular order, Jordan Watkins, Tre Harris, Dayton Wade, Jalen Knox and Ayden Williams.

Simmons, J.J. Henry and Bralon Brown seem to be battle for the sixth spot. Most believe, though, that Franklin will move into that spot once he returns from injury. Redshirt freshman Jeremiah Dillon has exhibited good speed. However, he’s had trouble holding on to the ball at times.

The question that will be answered when the season starts is how many wideouts will WR Coach Derrick Nix play? If Henry, Brown, Simmons are put in the game, it’s not a hold-your-breath proposition. They are pretty good receivers in their own right.

Ole Miss safety Teja ‘TJ’ Young

There hasn’t been much movement on the offensive depth chart …

.. in the four fall practices we have attended.

That especially holds true for the offensive line.

The only caveat may be a real battle developing between Left Guards Eli Acker and Victor Curne. They have been splitting reps with the first team at times.

Here’s how the Rebels are lining up:

LEFT TACKLE: Jayden Williams, Cam East
CENTER: Reece McIntyre, Brycen Sanders
RIGHT GUARD: Jeremy James, Quincy McGee
RIGHT TACKLE: Micah Pettus, Cedric Melton

That grouping/rotation/whatever has remained steady. But don’t forget when Warren returns, which we have been assured he will, he will take over number one center.

This may well be the best second team OL, overall, the Rebels have had in a long time. It would not be scary to us to see any of the second teamers in a game.

Of all these players, the most intimidating to us is Pettus. He’s 6-7, 360 pounds, moves well and he has a bad disposition on the football field. He seems to get better daily. In one-on-one drills, he is rarely beaten.

Tomorrow will be the last day the media will have to watch full practices.

The post Ole Miss Preseason Camp Report: Trigg’s back, but there’s a catch … appeared first on On3.