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The University of Mississippi Athletics
Ole Miss Football Practice Report: Fall Camp Begins
7/31/2024 | Football
Presented by Oxford Orthopaedics & Sports Medicine
OXFORD, Miss. – The road to the College Football Playoff has official begun as Lane Kiffin and Ole Miss football took to the practice field Wednesday to begin fall camp.
The hype around the Rebels has never been greater going into the season. Ole Miss is a popular pick to make its first ever CFP after going a program-best 11-2 and winning the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl. Kiffin and his staff also added the No. 1 transfer portal class in the nation, giving Ole Miss plenty to be excited about in 2024, and plenty of outside noise to ignore.
“Just making sure that they understand whether it's preseason rankings, whether it's as a team, position, group, individuals, all that means nothing,” Kiffin said. “We have a lot of work to do. At the same time, we're excited to have a lot of pieces to work with and try to gel together. Good first day.”
A NEW LOOK
With new transfer portal additions all across the field, Ole Miss looks like a different team physically than it has in years past. Walter Nolen and Princely Umanmielen were perhaps the two biggest headliners of the class, both joining the defensive line, but the Rebels are hopeful to see just as much improvement on the offensive front with the additions of Nate Kalepo and Julius Buelow from last year’s CFP runner-up, Washington.
“For the first time since I’ve been here, we look like a real team,” Kiffin said. “It doesn’t mean that we’re going to be any good. It just means that we actually have length and size like good teams do. There's all kinds of work to do with that. You’ve got to get them to play together, play well individually and to figure out what their roles are. But we look a lot different. People mention it a lot on defense, but we look longer and more proven on the offensive line also.”
ON THE RUN
Ole Miss will also look different at the running back position as Kiffin and RBs coach Kevin Smith have plenty of options. Ulysses Bentley IV returns as one of the SEC’s highest graded returning running backs, and he’s joined by a dynamic group of transfers, including Logan Diggs of LSU, Rashad Amos of Miami (Ohio) and former Rebel who is back from Miami (Fla.), Henry Parrish Jr.
For Kiffin, it doesn’t matter how many carries each of his backs earn. As long as Ole Miss finds a recipe for success at the position.
“I don't really care which way it goes, whether it's one guy iso far ahead, that one guy does it, or there's two or there's three,” Kiffin said. “We’ll just figure out the best way to win.”
All eyes on Fall Camp ??#ProMindset | #HottyToddy pic.twitter.com/7y1DDeSS18
— Ole Miss Football (@OleMissFB) July 30, 2024
Fall Camp has arrived ??#ProMindset | #HottyToddy pic.twitter.com/rcXfK9E0gO
— Ole Miss Football (@OleMissFB) July 31, 2024
Coach me, coach! ??@Lane_Kiffin x @Cayden_X_Lee pic.twitter.com/C0zOYEqZd4
— Ole Miss Football (@OleMissFB) July 31, 2024
Iron sharpening iron ??@_treharris13 x @TreyAmos21 pic.twitter.com/EX4uqqtnPW
— Ole Miss Football (@OleMissFB) July 31, 2024
PASS HAPPY
While Ole Miss sorts out its running back rotation, the Rebels will also have to figure out the best way to get all of their weapons involved in the passing game. Tre Harris returns as one of the nation’s top receivers, alongside Jordan Watkins and one of the nation’s top tight ends in Caden Prieskorn. Ole Miss also has several young receivers looking to earn a greater role, not to mention one of the transfer portal’s top receiver prospects in Antwane Wells Jr.
Kiffin is eager to see what the group can do, but he and his coaches will also be intentional this fall about ensuring that the No. 1 goal for the group is winning, and not 1,000-yard seasons.
“There’s a cost to that benefit of having a lot of receivers. You have to spend a lot of time getting them to understand the goal of winning. And that has to override individual numbers at times because there’s not a way that all these guys—tight ends, receivers—they’re not all going to have these gigantic statistical years,” Kiffin said. “I think the Juice (Wells) has rehabbed really well, he’s trained really hard seems to be highly competitive at things and really wanting to get better. And so I’m very pleased with Juice.”
STAY CONNECTED
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