Midweek Report: ULM Week

OXFORD, Miss. – As the Ole Miss football team has prepared for its sixth week of action with ULM coming to town, it has been marked by change in the secondary.

The Rebels have seen three starting defensive backs in Jaylon Jones, Montrell Custis and C.J. Moore go down for the season. As a result, two members of the running back room have swapped to the defensive side in Armani Linton and Tylan Knight. The veteran Linton, who moved from defensive back to running back in the offseason, brings knowledge and comfort on the back end, while the true freshman Knight provides outstanding athleticism and energy.

"With all the injuries, we felt that Armani and Tylan give a little shot in the arm," said head coach Matt Luke. "Armani can get people lined up. You'd be shocked how much retention he had. Then Tylan is like a little pit bull. He's just a good player, going over there faking blitzes, coming out of blitzes on his first day of practice. You could tell he's natural at it. It'll give us some flexibility in there."

Linton, a junior out of Walnut, Mississippi, appeared in nine games as a freshman and 10 as a sophomore. He was a 4-star prospect coming out of high school, and he's been an important part of the Rebel locker room throughout his collegiate career.

"We take pride in when one man goes down, the next man has to step up," Linton said. "That's the reason why you pay attention in the film room and take reps in practice. You just have to step up when your name is called. When your number is called, go out there and make a play."

The Rebels will look to Linton and Knight to help make plays all around the defensive backfield as they look to get back on track after a road defeat last week against a top-five foe in LSU. As they hit the halfway point of their season, all that matters for Coach Luke and Co. is getting to 4-2.

"It's huge. Every game counts the same. People think that's cliché, but everything in the win and the loss column doesn't change because of who you're playing," Luke said. "We're 3-2 right now, we want to go to 4-2. We've got to go out there and play well and get better this week. You can't hang your head, you can't pout. You have to keep your head down and work."

This week's work focuses on the Rebels' improvement, as well as preparing for a ULM team that will come in hungry for a victory. The Warhawks have lost three straight, including a 48-10 defeat to Texas A&M in College Station on Sept. 15. However, the Rebels know they aren't a foe to be taken lightly.

"They play extremely hard," said offensive lineman Greg Little. "They get after it. They play ruthless, and I like defenses who get after it like that. It's going to be a tougher challenge than most people think."

The Warhawks opened their season with back-to-back wins, including an impressive 21-20 victory on the road against Southern Miss. ULM led the Golden Eagles 14-10 at the half and played the final 22 minutes of game time clinging to a 21-20 lead in hostile territory.

Meanwhile, Ole Miss will be motivated to secure the victory as well in its final non-conference game of the season. After this weekend, the Rebels will take on six straight Southeastern Conference foes—three on the road and three at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium.

As they turn the page on the first half of the season, the Rebels are confident that continued improvement will carry them through the thick of SEC play.

"Football is ups and downs," Little said. "We're going to have bad weeks. We're going to have good weeks. We just have to come in here, get better at the little things, learn the mistakes we made in the game and get better from those mistakes and not make them again."

Ole Miss and ULM are set for a 3 p.m. CT kickoff from Vaught-Hemingway. The game will be broadcast on SEC Network.

ULM Comparison

RebelsCalendar

Players Mentioned

Montrell Custis

Jaylon Jones

Tylan Knight

Armani Linton

Greg Little

C.J. Moore

The University of Mississippi Athletics