Practice Report: Some of the most-improved through the first two weeks of Ole Miss Fall camp
Ole Miss coach Lane Kiffin mentioned in his latest press conference he felt one of the most improved players of the fall camp thus far was, surprise, wide receiver Tre Harris.
Frankly, that one would have escaped us, but Kiffin has obviously seen something that has turned his head out of the 6-3 210-pound senior who is a preseason All-SEC pick by most polls and we certainly will not dispute his observation.
But who have we seen who has shown a lot of improvement or at least seems to be moving up the food chain, uh, depth chart.
We’ve mentioned two or three times it looks as if offensive lineman Preston Cushman, a 6-5 305-pound sophomore who looks to have moved from guard to right tackle, must have turned some heads this August because offensive line coach John Garrison has worked him with the first team line a couple of days at least.
Cushman has been injured a big chunk of his tenure at Ole Miss, but when he was signed he was favorably compared to former Rebel Ben Brown. Unfortunately Preston has been sidetracked with injury issues but seems to have overcome those for now and is fast-tracking to possible rotational playing time.
It’s good to see younger OL like Cushman and Brycen Sanders doing well because several OL are graduating this year and these guys will have to be the base of the future offensive line.
We first started noticing redshirt freshman defensive tackle Jamarious Brown last spring. He reminds one of JJ Pegues in that he’s 6-1 and 315 pounds – in the size range of 6-2 325-pound Pegues and he has the explosive first step off the snap like J.J. He was injured earlier in August camp, but he’s back at full speed now and making his presence known in recent practices.
Former Ole Miss All-American safety Harry Harrison gave some insight into two safeties who he says have made some hay this August and if anyone knows safety play, it’s Harry. He says South Alabama transfer Yam Banks and Indiana transfer Louis Moore, both of whom were here learning the ropes in spring, are fully transitioned and are now making noise in practice because they aren’t having to think much now. They know the defense well enough to just react. We trust Harry on this.
With Harry’s endorsement, that means Ole Miss has a solid rotation for the three safety slots. Trey Washington, John Saunders Jr, Key Lawrence, Jadon Canady, Banks and Moore seem to be the top guys and that’s a good one-two punch at all three slots.
Two young wideouts who we mentioned during spring are now continuing that improvement phase of their careers. Sophomores Ayden Williams and Cayden Lee have gotten the attention of offensive coordinator Charlie Weis Jr during August drills for having “make a lot of plays” he said in a recent interview. Even from our untrained eye and limited viewing, we can see a new level of confidence in both with their positive body language and approach to practice.
Defensive tackle Zxavian Harris had a goal last year – get rid of the baby fat and add muscle to his 6-7 frame. You will recall he played his freshman year at 335 pounds, but it was – as he said – an uncomfortable 335 pounds because it wasn’t all good weight.
That summer, he lost 30-35 pounds and reported to camp last year at 305 and looking lean, but that was too lean for him, as he expressed at the time. He wanted to put some weight back on and make it good muscle mass. Harris seems to be setting himself up for a very good season. He will be in a heavy rotation with J.J. Pegues and Walter Nolen and don’t be surprised if he doesn’t produce to their level. He certainly looks the part. Thursday, Jamarious Brown was in the lineup with Harris on the number two DL.
The top offensive line at Thursday’s practice looked to be Jayden Williams at left tackle, Nate Kalepo at left guard, Gerquan Scott at center, Julius Buelow at right guard and Micah Pettus at right tackle, the same as the last time the media was allowed to watch snippets of practice, which was last Tuesday.
It’s apparent as much musical chairs and rotation as we are seeing up front that OL coach John Garrison is testing the waters of every possible combination for the season.
Notables in black jerseys today were DE Princely Umanmielen, OL Caleb Warren, WR Tre Harris, WR Juice Wells, CB Brandon Turnage.
Freshman wide receiver Noreel White was in black Tuesday but was in a regular jersey Thursday. Wide receiver Jordan Watkins, safety Jadon Canady and freshman safety Andy Jaffe were not on the practice fields. They were inside rehabbing their injuries.
Still no Deion Smith sighting. We have no idea what to tell you other than he is not at practice which means he has not been declared eligible by university admissions.
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