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The University of Mississippi Athletics
Defense Dominates Friday's Football Scrimmage
3/23/2007 | Football
OXFORD, Miss. It was a day for the defense to shine here Friday afternoon in Vaught-Hemingway Stadium as Coach Ed Orgeron put his Ole Miss Rebels through a 90-minute spring football scrimmage.
"We had a big time scrimmage, and it was a very enthusiastic day for the defense," Orgeron said, noting that they played well the whole day and dominated the scrimmage. "I thought it was just an awesome job by Coach (John) Thompson and his staff. They had their guys ready. They were fired up and running around and making plays."
Oregron cited several defensive players, including sophomore defensive lineman Marcus Tillman, linebacker Jonathan Cornell and defensive backs Cassius Vaughn and Jamarca Sanford. "It was just a real good day for the defense," he said.
"We had some guys out in the defensive line, but a number of younger players stepped up for the defense, including David Densmore and Ben Benedetto, and then we had Daverin Geralds to once again step up. Marcus Tillman had an excellent day."
Although the defense drew most of the praise, Orgeron did note that senior running back BenJarvus Green-Ellis stood out in the short time he participated in the scrimmage. "Once BenJarvus came out, the defense took control. He's not getting every rep that the first team is getting, but he's doing great when he is in there," Orgeron said.
On offense, he pointed out that sophomore wide receiver Michael Hicks "caught a couple of good passes" and sophomore wide receiver Marshay Green "caught a big screen."
Special teams drew early attention during the scrimmage as the coaches worked punt team and Orgeron was pleased with the job done in protecting and covering. "We also worked our kickoff team against our best kickoff return team and Marshay had a return for a touchdown," he said.
One portion of the scrimmage concentrated on goal line situations and ended with a number of series designed to simulate a game which had gone into overtime.
The improvement of Cassius Vaughn caught Orgeron's eye this week. "Cassius has improved," Orgeron said. "John worked with him this week. He started off the week a little bit slow, but John challenged him. I thought Cassius had his best day today."
When asked by the media if Vaughn is what you look for in a corner, Orgeron replied: "speed, good size, long arms, good hips" in reference to the sophomore from Memphis (East).
With the defense dominating on Friday, the offensive line struggled for consistency.
"We were giving up some sacks against the pressure and that had not been happening during earlier practices," Orgeron said. "Overall, it was one of their poorest performances of the spring. The defense was on today. It was just one of those days of the spring."
Practice will resume next Monday as the Rebels plan to also work Wednesday and Friday before having another major scrimmage on Saturday. Spring drills at Ole Miss will conclude on Saturday, April 7 with the annual Red-Blue "Grove Bowl" game. Kickoff is set for 1 p.m.
