Football Practice Report: Back at Home

OXFORD, Miss. – Returning back home after a victory in the Big Easy, Ole Miss football continues its "1-0" mindset heading into Saturday's matchup against Georgia Tech.

The 17th-ranked Rebels will host the Yellow Jackets this Saturday night, Sept. 16, at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium. Kickoff is set for 6:30 p.m. CT on SEC Network, and tickets are still available for purchase at OleMissTix.com.

Yesterday's media availability featured linebacker Jeremiah Jean-Baptiste, safety John Saunders Jr. and wide receiver Dayton Wade, in addition to Monday's session with head coach Lane Kiffin, kicker Caden Davis and defensive end Jared Ivey.

PIPELINE TO THE SIP
Saturday's game against Georgia Tech will pit four Rebels against some old faces. Jam Griffin, Jared Ivey, Akelo Stone and Zamari Walton all once played for the Yellow Jackets before transferring to Ole Miss, and luckily for the Rebels, all four have already stood out this season.

"I'm very excited about [the Georgia Tech transfers playing well]," Ivey said. "They've been playing really well. Jam's made some crazy plays on special teams. Akelo has been doing his thing and already racked up a sack. Zamari obviously starts for us, and he's been really solid this year too. We're just really thankful to have those guys."

The Landshark defense runs strong through these four. Walton, who has earned a starting position at cornerback for the past two games, has racked up four tackles and a pass breakup.
In their first game in an Ole Miss uniform, Griffin and Stone both made big plays, as Griffin forced a fumble on a kickoff that was recovered by the Rebels, while Stone took down Mercer's quarterback for a loss of nine yards.

THICK-SIX
At Tulane, Jared Ivey recovered linebacker Khari Coleman's sack fumble for a scoop-and score late in the fourth quarter to put the Rebel lead out of reach – the first fumble return for a touchdown for Ole Miss since 2021. This was Ivey's first touchdown in his collegiate career, but not in his football career.

"I never returned anything defensively in high school, but I did score a couple of two-point conversions," Ivey said. "The last time I scored a touchdown for real was in fifth grade. I played tight end, it was a double cover, slot fade. We went to overtime and the guys at home know the story. That was my last real time scoring six."

Ivey ended with three total tackles and one sack – his first of the season, the sixth of his career and now 4.5 as a Rebel. He also has 2.0 tackles for loss on the season.

"I didn't know [Jared Ivey could run that fast]," said Jeremiah Jean-Baptiste. "They call them thick-six for a reason, so he got it."

EYES ON THE TARGET
Quarterback Jaxson Dart has been sharp through two weeks of action, currently leading the SEC in yards per attempt at 12.0 (No. 2 FBS), passing efficiency at 206.6 (No. 3 FBS) and yards per completion at 17.2 (No. 5 FBS), while also ranking within the SEC top-five in passing touchdowns with six (FBS No. 9), passing yards per game at 300.5 (FBS No. 13) and total offense at 339.0 yards per game (FBS No. 11).

Last week at Tulane, senior wideout Dayton Wade emerged as a key target for Dart, ending the day with a career-high 106 yards on seven receptions – including a crucial 43-yard grab after a big defensive stop on fourth down.

"This is my second year with Dart," Wade said. "I know him outside of football. I'd say personally, we're close. We have conversations. I know how much he wants it, and he knows how much I want it. He just showed y'all Saturday how much he really wanted it, battling whatever he's battling. It was no surprise to me or us. We all know he's a dawg. He's going to give us all he's got, no matter what. If he can go, he's going. We just rally behind him."

Dart has been especially effective in the first quarters of both games so far this season, standing at 18-of-19 for 246 yards and four touchdowns in the opening frame. That includes a blistering 11-for-11 stretch to open the season against Mercer, making him just the seventh Ole Miss quarterback to ever throw 11 consecutive completions – the best such streak since Matt Corral set the school record at 19 in a row at Vanderbilt in 2020.

KICKING OFF THE SEASON HOT
Special teams played a big role in the Rebels' win against No. 22 Tulane. Senior kicker Caden Davis went 3-3 on field goals, including a career-long and SEC-leading 56-yarder – good for fourth-longest in Ole Miss history and tied for No. 2 in the FBS this season. Davis' performance earned him SEC Special Teams Player of the Week honors on Monday, the second straight week Ole Miss has won at least a co-share of the award.

Davis has had success from distance on and off the big stage. He discussed with the media his thoughts leading up to the moment head coach Lane Kiffin gave the special team signal.

"The furthest one I hit in pregame was 67 [yards]," Davis said. "I told coach if we got to the 50-yard line going that way with the wind, I would be good."

Davis transferred to Ole Miss from Texas A&M, where he was primarily a kickoff specialist who entered 2023 with an incredible career average of 64.1 yards per kickoff with 155 touchbacks. This season, Davis has 14 touchbacks in 19 kickoffs, tied for second in the nation.

Davis has been booting it since his early days, being named an all-state honorable mention as a junior year in high school. On the season, Davis is currently a perfect 4-4 on field goals and 9-9 on PATs.

"I'm just glad that I could help our team win," Davis said. "When an opportunity like that comes, I want to do my part just like everyone else on the team is."

Get all the latest information on the team by following @olemissfb on Twitter and Instagram and OleMissFootball on Facebook.

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Players Mentioned

Khari Coleman

Jaxson Dart

Caden Davis

Jam Griffin

Jared Ivey

Jeremiah Jean-Baptiste

John Saunders Jr.

Akelo Stone

Dayton Wade

Zamari Walton

The University of Mississippi Athletics