Practice Report: August 26

OXFORD, Miss. – The Ole Miss football team completed its seventh practice of fall camp on Wednesday morning, working under overcast skies as the first week of classes rolls along in Oxford.

Afterward, running back Jerrion Ealy and defensive lineman Ryder Anderson met with the media to discuss the latest out of the Manning Center as the Rebels prepare for the start of the 2020 season.

EASY EALY
If you follow Ole Miss Football on social media, chances are you've caught a clip of Jerrion Ealy coming off the practice field and gracing followers with some words of wisdom. There's no show for the cameras when it comes to the sophomore running back out of Jackson Prep—that's just Jerrion being Jerrion.

"Every day on earth is a good day, so why not be positive?" Ealy said. "That's what I live by and what I try to go out and do. I have those daily motivations that pop up on my phone. So sometimes I get a lot of knowledge from there. It just helps me to play calm and to not get over-stressed by the things that are surrounding me. It's always teaching me to stay in the present."

Presently, Ealy is leading young running backs room through fall camp and the digestion of an entirely new offensive system. So far, No. 9 is loving what the new scheme has to offer.

"I like our concepts and what we've got designed for our players. I think it's going to be an exciting year for our offense," Ealy said. "My role hasn't really changed. Our objective is just to get our playmakers the ball in space. That's what we're going to do. We're going to get our playmakers the ball in space. That's the coaches' plan for me, just to get me the ball in space and put me in the best position to go out and make plays."

Kiffin and his staff have plenty of experience at just that. The Rebel head coach has tutored numerous elite running backs during his career, including one of the most exciting ball-carriers ever to do it in Reggie Bush. With similar speed, quickness, return ability and overall versatility out of the backfield, Ealy is drawing comparisons to the former Heisman Trophy winner.

"Reggie was one of my favorite players when I was growing up, so I try to mimic Reggie a lot," Ealy said. "We have similar builds, same playing style, so knowing that Coach Kiffin was there with him and he was also at Alabama with Kenyan Drake, T.J. Yeldon and all of them, it was exciting to see that. He knows what he's doing, and he got us a position coach (Kevin Smith) who knows exactly what he's doing. He knows how football is played and what we need to do to be the best group in the country."

EASY RYDER
Ryder Anderson is in a similar situation as a senior on the defensive front, leading a younger group. Anderson also has some added motivation to make up for lost time after seeing a promising 2019 campaign cut short just five games in thanks to a knee injury. However, the senior out of Katy, Texas, is happy to report that he's back and stronger than ever.

"I'm feeling great. I had the knee injury. I'm feeling 100 percent back from that," Anderson said. "It's already been tested. I'm confident in it now. I've had that first—those times where you don't know (if it's fully healed). I've already pushed through all of that. I feel great about it."

Now, the focus is on getting the Ole Miss defensive line stronger than ever. To do that, Anderson will go wherever he needs to make the biggest impact—and he has already moved around through several spots up front.

"Camp has been going great," Anderson said. "I've been playing some tackle, some 3 some 2i, and then I've also started getting some reps at end as well—5 tech, 6 tech. Just moving around and just trying to play whatever the team needs me to play…I'm just trying to be whatever they need me to be, trying to be a leader. Trying to bring some of the young guys along."

So far, Anderson has liked what he has seen from his fellow linemen, praising several newcomers, including Brandon Mack, Demon Clowney and Tavius Robinson. In Anderson's eyes, a big source of that early success for both the newcomers and returners alike is simply how well the team is meshing with its new coaching staff.

"The players are starting to buy into it more this year. I feel really comfortable with the guys we have right now—really confident," Anderson said. "There's nothing wrong with the schemes that we ran in the past. At the end of the day, it comes down to the players executing. As a team we didn't execute. But this year, I feel like we're buying in and we're ready to execute. It feels like everyone is on the same page, and we're receiving the coaching a lot better."

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Players Mentioned

Ryder Anderson

Demon Clowney

Jerrion Ealy

Brandon Mack

Tavius Robinson

The University of Mississippi Athletics