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The University of Mississippi Athletics
Ole Miss Football Practice Report: Depth on Display
8/9/2024 | Football
Presented by Oxford Orthopaedics & Sports Medicine
OXFORD, Miss. – Fall camp marches on for the Ole Miss football team with just three weeks between Lane Kiffin’s Rebels and the eve of the 2024 college football season.
Offensive lineman Gerquan Scott, defensive back Yam Banks and linebacker TJ Dottery met with the media Friday to give the latest from inside their position rooms. Scroll on for their storylines and full press conference videos.
SOUTHERN TO THE SIP
Ole Miss boasts one of the most experienced offensive line groups in the country, with 219 starts combined. Gerquan Scott started 40 games for Southern Miss from 2020-23, and now he’ll be part of an extraordinarily deep O-Line unit in Oxford.
“Deep, man. Really deep. We have some talent. I think we definitely have two groups ready to go. Everybody’s learning. Everybody’s moving fast and looking alright to me. Very deep,” Scott said. “Each and every day, everyone knows that nobody has a guaranteed spot. Everyone is really amazing. We have people who can start at every position. You can’t take off a day. That’s what makes us come in every day and work hard because we know we have somebody behind us who wants to beat out somebody.”
Scott is one of 10 players on the Rebel roster with starting experience, his 40 starts coming as the third-most behind Caleb Warren (44) and Jeremy James (49). Micah Pettus, Jayden Williams, Nate Kalepo and Julius Buelow have all started double-digit games as well. With so much experience, Scott knows that versatility will be key, and though his primary experience has been at guard, he’s also been working in at center during fall camp.
“Center feels natural. I actually played two games at center last year,” Scott said. “But getting reps at it, taking it day by day, just learning more and more every day is just getting me ready for the season.”
SPRING IN STEP
Yam Banks is another experienced newcomer, and he told a similar story about the defensive backs room. Banks played in 45 games, earning two All-Sun Belt Conference selections in three seasons at South Alabama. Banks joined Ole Miss for spring practice, which helped him get on the same page as the returners going into camp.
“Coming in the spring helped a lot, just learning new plays and new positions all around the field,” Banks said. “In the safety room, we play sides. Sometimes I go to free safety. Sometimes I even go to linebacker and play in a little dollar set. Just making sure I know where I’m at all times and making sure I know the call at all times.”
Like in the offensive line room, versatility is valued in the secondary. Including Banks, there are six seniors in the safeties room alone, four of which have Power 4 starting experience.
“It’s kind of crazy actually. Seeing a lot of guys, like Quan said, there’s not really a guaranteed spot for anybody,” Banks said. “Every team period we rotate. So I feel like we have a really deep room.”
ON THE DOT
While both Scott and Banks went through smaller programs to get to the SEC, TJ Dottery joined a perennial playoff contender in Clemson after being one of the most coveted recruits in the nation. After a season with the Tigers, Dottery transferred to Ole Miss but had to sit out the regular season due to NCAA rules. While his career didn’t begin the way he hoped, he focused on improving individually and helping his team prepare to win.
“It wasn’t the plan, but each and every day, I just looked at it as an opportunity to get better,” Dottery said. “Getting to go against the starting offense every day, it can only make me better. So just going 110 percent, and also giving those guys a look for who they were playing that week, so that played a big part in it as well.”
There was another silver lining to Dottery’s first year in Oxford: getting to play in the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl. Eligible for the postseason game, Dottery tallied two tackles and a QB hurry in his Rebel debut, and picked up some confidence going into his first full season in red and blue.
“It felt good, a confidence booster for sure,” Dottery said. “Being able to get out there after not being out there for a while, being able to get back in the flow of things and live game speed, it was really fun. It was awesome.”
STAY CONNECTED
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