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The University of Mississippi Athletics
Football Practice Report: Camp Begins
8/2/2023 | Football
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Head Coach Lane Kiffin, Ole Miss Players Meet with Media to Open Fall Camp
OXFORD, Miss. – Ole Miss football officially kicked off its training camp for the 2023 season with its opening practice session on Wednesday morning, followed by a press conference with head coach Lane Kiffin and a media availability session with two dozen Rebel student-athletes.
The recent sweltering conditions abated for the most part on Wednesday morning, with milder temperatures and a nice breeze greeting the Rebels on their way out to the practice fields from the newly renovated Manning Center.
"It's great to be back," Kiffin said. "Really good practice this morning. As we've talked about before, this is almost a roster that's half new from last season. A lot of work to do with that but also a lot of excitement from some guys that have been or could be really good players."
A preseason top-25 team by early media projections, Kiffin's Rebels open fall camp in search of a fourth straight bowl appearance. Ole Miss returns the SEC's leading rusher in Quinshon Judkins, while adding a large transfer class ranked as high as sixth in the nation.
Season tickets are still available for the 2023 season, as are the recently announced Party Packs, which features two, three and four-game mini plans.
For all ticket opportunities, contact the Ole Miss Athletics Ticket office at OleMissTix.com, olemisstix@olemiss.edu or 888-732-TKTS. A limited number of season ticket opportunities remain throughout Vaught-Hemingway Stadium. Excluding single seats, several sections have sold out, including the south end zone. If inventory is available, single-game tickets will go on sale beginning August 15.
To follow along all camp and all season long, follow @olemissfb on Twitter and Instagram and OleMissFootball on Facebook.
BREAKING THE ICE
It's no secret that Ole Miss has done serious work in the transfer portal era. The Rebels have notched two straight transfer classes that rank within the top-six nationally by 247Sports – No. 2 in 2022 and No. 6 this year – as well as three straight top-25 high school recruiting classes by On3.
Ole Miss currently has 28 new transfers and 28 true freshmen on campus for fall camp as the Rebels look to replace 45 letterwinners lost from the 2022 squad. Combined with the 21 returning Rebels who had transferred to Ole Miss in years prior, that puts the current roster total of transfers at 49 for the 2023 season.
That means a lot of new faces and a lot of adjustments, and while spring practice allowed some of the Rebel squad to get to know each other, the full roster is now here with one goal: acclimate, and fast.
"That's an ongoing challenge for us to bring people along and that was a big message in the team meeting last night," Kiffin said. "You have to do work to come together, this isn't an individual sport. You have to do a lot of work off the field with each other to build trust and prepare."
BRAND NEW DEFENSE
That turnover is most noticeable on the defensive side of the ball, where Ole Miss is looking to replace 26 letterwinners and eight starters from a year ago. Ole Miss does have significant upperclassmen leadership on defense in the likes of active career sacks leader Cedric Johnson, active career interceptions leader Deantre Prince and returning top tackler Ashanti Cistrunk, among others. But of the 56 total newcomers for the Rebels this season, 32 are on defense.
"I always say you can't follow the book that was written 100 years ago on how to coach, you have to evolve and adjust," Kiffin said. "Well, this book has dramatically changed. I looked out there at one point and the unit that was out there, it's so new especially on that side of ball. There were a lot of defensive players out there and only one signed here out of high school. It is what it is."
Ole Miss is added a haul of defensive veterans through the transfer portal, such as defensive linemen Joshua Harris (NC State), Isaac Ukwu (James Madison) and Stephon Wynn Jr. (Nebraska), linebackers Jeremiah Jean-Baptiste (UCF) and Monty Montgomery (Louisville), and secondary members John Saunders Jr. (Miami [OH]), Zamari Walton (Georgia Tech) and Teja Young (FAU) among several others.
On top of that, all these new faces are continuing to absorb the multiple scheme of new defensive coordinator Pete Golding.
"Pete (Golding) is really smart, great recruiter, high energy. I really like being around him," Kiffin said. "He's still young, but what he brings to the guys (is) about coaching really great players and (he) coaches the coaches really well. Sometimes young guys struggle to do that, they're just scheme guys. I've been really impressed by him as with everyone who's worked with him."
QB BATTLE UNDERWAY
Ole Miss made waves this offseason when it became arguably the deepest quarterback room in the nation with the additions of senior Oklahoma State transfer Spencer Sanders and freshman LSU transfer Walker Howard to compete alongside the Rebels' 2022 starter Jaxson Dart. Kiffin and the Rebels went even deeper within the last month, adding consensus four-star signee Austin Simmons over the summer, who reclassified to 2023 and has enrolled at Ole Miss as a freshman this fall.
With training camp officially underway, the battle for the starting quarterback position is also now in the spotlight.
"All four guys out there are getting reps and rotating through with all the different units," Kiffin said. "That's definitely as deep as we have been here, to have that much competition at a lot of different ages."
Dart ended last year with 2,974 yards (No. 10 Ole Miss history) and 20 touchdowns passing (No. 9 Ole Miss history) for the Rebels, while adding 614 yards and a score on the ground. Dart's 3,588 yards of total offense ranked as the sixth-best season in program history.
Sanders was rated a four-star transfer and the nation's No. 19 overall transfer according to On3. Sanders appeared in 43 career games for the Cowboys, earning 2019 Big 12 Offensive Freshman of the Year and 2021 first team All-Big 12 accolades. He threw for 9,553 yards, ran for 1,956 yards and posted 85 total touchdowns during his four-year career in Stillwater. Sanders went 30-11 as a starter, which included an 11-2 mark in 2021. He enters 2023 fourth among active FBS quarterbacks in career total offense (11,509) and seventh in passing yards (9,553).
Howard was Ole Miss' highest rated transfer according to 247Sports, coming in at No. 42. Howard appeared in two contests for the Tigers as a true freshman in 2022, and was one of the nation's top quarterback prospects in the 2022 class. Howard was rated as the nation's No. 1 dual-threat QB by ESPN and listed No. 5 by 247Sports.
Simmons was originally ranked No. 77 nationally by ESPN for the 2025 class before reclassifying to 2023 and coming to Oxford. At Moore Haven High School, he passed for 3,253 yards and 27 touchdowns as a senior and was a two-time all-state selection.
"It's neat to have all those guys together, to be able to work with, and to have that much talent," Kiffin said. "Nowadays that's very rare to have in the quarterback room with all the guys that leave. It came up last night, Charlie (Weis Jr.) was asking how do we rep them. We have a lot of guys which is obviously a great problem to have. It's going to be exciting to watch them compete in the Vaught."
The recent sweltering conditions abated for the most part on Wednesday morning, with milder temperatures and a nice breeze greeting the Rebels on their way out to the practice fields from the newly renovated Manning Center.
"It's great to be back," Kiffin said. "Really good practice this morning. As we've talked about before, this is almost a roster that's half new from last season. A lot of work to do with that but also a lot of excitement from some guys that have been or could be really good players."
A preseason top-25 team by early media projections, Kiffin's Rebels open fall camp in search of a fourth straight bowl appearance. Ole Miss returns the SEC's leading rusher in Quinshon Judkins, while adding a large transfer class ranked as high as sixth in the nation.
Season tickets are still available for the 2023 season, as are the recently announced Party Packs, which features two, three and four-game mini plans.
For all ticket opportunities, contact the Ole Miss Athletics Ticket office at OleMissTix.com, olemisstix@olemiss.edu or 888-732-TKTS. A limited number of season ticket opportunities remain throughout Vaught-Hemingway Stadium. Excluding single seats, several sections have sold out, including the south end zone. If inventory is available, single-game tickets will go on sale beginning August 15.
To follow along all camp and all season long, follow @olemissfb on Twitter and Instagram and OleMissFootball on Facebook.
BREAKING THE ICE
It's no secret that Ole Miss has done serious work in the transfer portal era. The Rebels have notched two straight transfer classes that rank within the top-six nationally by 247Sports – No. 2 in 2022 and No. 6 this year – as well as three straight top-25 high school recruiting classes by On3.
Ole Miss currently has 28 new transfers and 28 true freshmen on campus for fall camp as the Rebels look to replace 45 letterwinners lost from the 2022 squad. Combined with the 21 returning Rebels who had transferred to Ole Miss in years prior, that puts the current roster total of transfers at 49 for the 2023 season.
That means a lot of new faces and a lot of adjustments, and while spring practice allowed some of the Rebel squad to get to know each other, the full roster is now here with one goal: acclimate, and fast.
"That's an ongoing challenge for us to bring people along and that was a big message in the team meeting last night," Kiffin said. "You have to do work to come together, this isn't an individual sport. You have to do a lot of work off the field with each other to build trust and prepare."
BRAND NEW DEFENSE
That turnover is most noticeable on the defensive side of the ball, where Ole Miss is looking to replace 26 letterwinners and eight starters from a year ago. Ole Miss does have significant upperclassmen leadership on defense in the likes of active career sacks leader Cedric Johnson, active career interceptions leader Deantre Prince and returning top tackler Ashanti Cistrunk, among others. But of the 56 total newcomers for the Rebels this season, 32 are on defense.
"I always say you can't follow the book that was written 100 years ago on how to coach, you have to evolve and adjust," Kiffin said. "Well, this book has dramatically changed. I looked out there at one point and the unit that was out there, it's so new especially on that side of ball. There were a lot of defensive players out there and only one signed here out of high school. It is what it is."
Ole Miss is added a haul of defensive veterans through the transfer portal, such as defensive linemen Joshua Harris (NC State), Isaac Ukwu (James Madison) and Stephon Wynn Jr. (Nebraska), linebackers Jeremiah Jean-Baptiste (UCF) and Monty Montgomery (Louisville), and secondary members John Saunders Jr. (Miami [OH]), Zamari Walton (Georgia Tech) and Teja Young (FAU) among several others.
On top of that, all these new faces are continuing to absorb the multiple scheme of new defensive coordinator Pete Golding.
"Pete (Golding) is really smart, great recruiter, high energy. I really like being around him," Kiffin said. "He's still young, but what he brings to the guys (is) about coaching really great players and (he) coaches the coaches really well. Sometimes young guys struggle to do that, they're just scheme guys. I've been really impressed by him as with everyone who's worked with him."
QB BATTLE UNDERWAY
Ole Miss made waves this offseason when it became arguably the deepest quarterback room in the nation with the additions of senior Oklahoma State transfer Spencer Sanders and freshman LSU transfer Walker Howard to compete alongside the Rebels' 2022 starter Jaxson Dart. Kiffin and the Rebels went even deeper within the last month, adding consensus four-star signee Austin Simmons over the summer, who reclassified to 2023 and has enrolled at Ole Miss as a freshman this fall.
With training camp officially underway, the battle for the starting quarterback position is also now in the spotlight.
"All four guys out there are getting reps and rotating through with all the different units," Kiffin said. "That's definitely as deep as we have been here, to have that much competition at a lot of different ages."
Dart ended last year with 2,974 yards (No. 10 Ole Miss history) and 20 touchdowns passing (No. 9 Ole Miss history) for the Rebels, while adding 614 yards and a score on the ground. Dart's 3,588 yards of total offense ranked as the sixth-best season in program history.
Sanders was rated a four-star transfer and the nation's No. 19 overall transfer according to On3. Sanders appeared in 43 career games for the Cowboys, earning 2019 Big 12 Offensive Freshman of the Year and 2021 first team All-Big 12 accolades. He threw for 9,553 yards, ran for 1,956 yards and posted 85 total touchdowns during his four-year career in Stillwater. Sanders went 30-11 as a starter, which included an 11-2 mark in 2021. He enters 2023 fourth among active FBS quarterbacks in career total offense (11,509) and seventh in passing yards (9,553).
Howard was Ole Miss' highest rated transfer according to 247Sports, coming in at No. 42. Howard appeared in two contests for the Tigers as a true freshman in 2022, and was one of the nation's top quarterback prospects in the 2022 class. Howard was rated as the nation's No. 1 dual-threat QB by ESPN and listed No. 5 by 247Sports.
Simmons was originally ranked No. 77 nationally by ESPN for the 2025 class before reclassifying to 2023 and coming to Oxford. At Moore Haven High School, he passed for 3,253 yards and 27 touchdowns as a senior and was a two-time all-state selection.
"It's neat to have all those guys together, to be able to work with, and to have that much talent," Kiffin said. "Nowadays that's very rare to have in the quarterback room with all the guys that leave. It came up last night, Charlie (Weis Jr.) was asking how do we rep them. We have a lot of guys which is obviously a great problem to have. It's going to be exciting to watch them compete in the Vaught."
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