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The University of Mississippi Athletics
Practice Report: Difference Makers
10/5/2022 | Football
<i class="icon-paper"></i> Lane Kiffin Transcript<i class="icon-video"></i> Lane Kiffin Presser<i class="icon-video"></i> Troy Brown Presser<i class="icon-video"></i> Micah Pettus Presser<i class="icon-video"></i> Tavius Robinson Presser<i class="icon-video"></i> Trey Washington Presser
Kiffin Meets with Media as Rebels Prepare for SEC Road Trip at Vanderbilt
OXFORD, Miss. – The Ole Miss football team entered the Top 10 of both the Associated Press and Coaches polls, slotting at No. 9 after knocking off then-No. 7 Kentucky at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium last Saturday.
Now, Lane Kiffin and the Rebels will face their first road test in the Southeastern Conference as they head north to Nashville to take on Vanderbilt. Kiffin met with the media this week, alongside linebacker Troy Brown, offensive lineman Micah Pettus, defensive end Tavius Robinson and safety Trey Washington, to recap the win over the Wildcats and look ahead at the coming contest with the Commodores.
SUCCESSFUL SEC OPENER
Ole Miss jumped right into SEC play and welcomed a top-10 opponent in Kentucky to Oxford for its conference opener. A sold-out crowd of 64,828 also welcomed the Wildcats as the Rebels followed a stingy defensive effort, highlighted by two key turnovers in the fourth quarter, to a 22-19 victory.
"The crowd was really to our advantage," Kiffin said. "Which is what the goal has been. It impacts recruiting. You hear it from recruits, what they say after games. Not just what maybe you think when they watch on TV, but when they're here. And it impacted the game. There's three penalties on them on offense—two false starts and an illegal shift, not being set—that could be credited to the crowd. You could say they won the game. That's the way we want it to be. So that's an awesome job."
It was the sixth-largest crowd in the Vaught's history, and it was striped in red and navy for the first time. As Kiffin and his players attested afterward, the fans brought the energy of a night game to an 11 a.m. kick.
"It was great, especially with the crowd being there. Sold-out stadium. Just electrifying," Pettus said. "I'm already self-motivated, but it definitely helps when the crowd is there. Next week, we've got a game against Auburn—11 a.m., same time. We'd love for them to be there again. Great atmosphere. Best atmosphere in college football to play in."
PETTUS AMONG US
It was a special day in front of a special crowd for Pettus, who made his first career start at right tackle. Pettus came to Ole Miss in 2021 but did not see any game action. As difficult as it was, the redshirt year forced Pettus to re-evaluate his approach.
"I'm really competitive. This offseason, they brought in guys to play. I decided what I wasn't doing enough to get better," Pettus said. "I took some advice from Caleb Warren, Nick Broeker and Jeremy James on how they got on the field early. So, I started working out, eating better, doing extra stuff outside of what is required of us."
The Madison, Alabama, native had played sparingly in 2022, seeing 17 offensive snaps against Troy, 31 against Central Arkansas, 32 against Georgia Tech and zero against Tulsa. Injuries along the offensive front thrust Pettus into action, and when his number was called, he seized the opportunity.
"Probably as big of a development as we've been around over a year. From a guy who came here, redshirted, looked a long way away from playing a year ago," Kiffin said. "It's awesome to see. Not too many times you've got two freshman tackles and a guy has to make his first start in a big SEC game and play that well."
Pettus graded out at 94 percent and keyed a line that did not surrender a sack, recording 10 knockdowns with no pressures or missed assignments. He was named SEC Offensive Lineman of the Week for his efforts, and earned plenty of praise from his coaches along the way.
"He did play great for a first start, he played great whether it was his first start or not," Kiffin said. "Really physical, how we talk about straining to finish, finishing people with a violent attitude, and that was awesome to see. So we pointed him out today in film, told our players again, this is how you're supposed to do in this program. You work hard, you wait for your turn, you don't complain. The guy did exactly that, and when his turn came up, he made the most of it."
Now, Lane Kiffin and the Rebels will face their first road test in the Southeastern Conference as they head north to Nashville to take on Vanderbilt. Kiffin met with the media this week, alongside linebacker Troy Brown, offensive lineman Micah Pettus, defensive end Tavius Robinson and safety Trey Washington, to recap the win over the Wildcats and look ahead at the coming contest with the Commodores.
SUCCESSFUL SEC OPENER
Ole Miss jumped right into SEC play and welcomed a top-10 opponent in Kentucky to Oxford for its conference opener. A sold-out crowd of 64,828 also welcomed the Wildcats as the Rebels followed a stingy defensive effort, highlighted by two key turnovers in the fourth quarter, to a 22-19 victory.
"The crowd was really to our advantage," Kiffin said. "Which is what the goal has been. It impacts recruiting. You hear it from recruits, what they say after games. Not just what maybe you think when they watch on TV, but when they're here. And it impacted the game. There's three penalties on them on offense—two false starts and an illegal shift, not being set—that could be credited to the crowd. You could say they won the game. That's the way we want it to be. So that's an awesome job."
It was the sixth-largest crowd in the Vaught's history, and it was striped in red and navy for the first time. As Kiffin and his players attested afterward, the fans brought the energy of a night game to an 11 a.m. kick.
"It was great, especially with the crowd being there. Sold-out stadium. Just electrifying," Pettus said. "I'm already self-motivated, but it definitely helps when the crowd is there. Next week, we've got a game against Auburn—11 a.m., same time. We'd love for them to be there again. Great atmosphere. Best atmosphere in college football to play in."
PETTUS AMONG US
It was a special day in front of a special crowd for Pettus, who made his first career start at right tackle. Pettus came to Ole Miss in 2021 but did not see any game action. As difficult as it was, the redshirt year forced Pettus to re-evaluate his approach.
"I'm really competitive. This offseason, they brought in guys to play. I decided what I wasn't doing enough to get better," Pettus said. "I took some advice from Caleb Warren, Nick Broeker and Jeremy James on how they got on the field early. So, I started working out, eating better, doing extra stuff outside of what is required of us."
The Madison, Alabama, native had played sparingly in 2022, seeing 17 offensive snaps against Troy, 31 against Central Arkansas, 32 against Georgia Tech and zero against Tulsa. Injuries along the offensive front thrust Pettus into action, and when his number was called, he seized the opportunity.
"Probably as big of a development as we've been around over a year. From a guy who came here, redshirted, looked a long way away from playing a year ago," Kiffin said. "It's awesome to see. Not too many times you've got two freshman tackles and a guy has to make his first start in a big SEC game and play that well."
Pettus graded out at 94 percent and keyed a line that did not surrender a sack, recording 10 knockdowns with no pressures or missed assignments. He was named SEC Offensive Lineman of the Week for his efforts, and earned plenty of praise from his coaches along the way.
"He did play great for a first start, he played great whether it was his first start or not," Kiffin said. "Really physical, how we talk about straining to finish, finishing people with a violent attitude, and that was awesome to see. So we pointed him out today in film, told our players again, this is how you're supposed to do in this program. You work hard, you wait for your turn, you don't complain. The guy did exactly that, and when his turn came up, he made the most of it."
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