Football Practice Report: Week 4

OXFORD, Miss. – The No. 5 Ole Miss football team is out to as strong of a start as any team in college football, and the Rebels put their 3-0 record on the line this weekend in their final non-conference test before SEC play.

Lane Kiffin held his Monday press conference to break down the road win and where the Rebels must go from here. JJ Pegues, Jordan Watkins, Suntarine Perkins, Micah Pettus and Matt Jones also met with the media this week, which can be found below.

Standard is Set
The Ole Miss football team improved to 3-0 on the season with a decisive 40-6 victory at Wake Forest last week, but the Rebels came away from the win with plenty of areas for improvement. Kiffin spoke on where they can sharpen up for the coming challenges this week and beyond.

“Excited to come back home after a road trip and play in front of our crowd. We have a lot of work to do this week, a lot of things to clean up—penalties, red zone, pass defense,” Kiffin said. “This team is really good that we’re playing. Clay Helton does a great job. These guys went into Nebraska and won a couple of years ago. We’ve got to continue to improve and get better and clean things up. It’s a good if you change those things, then you can be a really special team. If you ignore these things, as teams get better, these things will come back to haunt you.”

Jaxson Dart echoed his coach’s sentiments after last week’s win. Dart put up Heisman Trophy numbers yet again as the Rebels eclipsed 600 yards of total offense—which Dart called the ugliest 600-yard game they could’ve played, a testament to the winning culture Kiffin has established in Oxford.

“For players to say that, it says a lot,” Kiffin said. “Says a lot about where our program is, how we think, where it was when we first got here. There certainly were days where you wouldn’t be finding issues with 34-point road ACC wins, you’d just be happy to win. It shows a good standard for expectations for how to play, and their internal expectations.”

Weapons Out Wide
One of the prettiest plays in that “ugly” 600-yard game was a 75-yard touchdown from Dart to Jordan Watkins for the veteran receiver’s first touchdown of the season. Watkins recalled the catch and the play design that led to it when he spoke with the media this week.

“The safety and the corner both took Cayden Lee on the crossing route. It was a play we had been working on pretty much all week. We knew it was going to be there, we didn’t know it was going to be that wide open,” Watkins said. “It presented itself, when the ball was there and I was just thinking, ‘Man, don’t drop it.’ First one of the year, happy to get in the end zone. It was awesome.”

Watkins was expected to be one of Ole Miss’ top receiving options in 2024, but injuries in fall camp caused him to miss Week 1 against Furman and ramp his way into action from there. For many players, any time spent off the field is a cause for concern, but Watkins knew that the wide receiver corps would be in good hands regardless.

“I was battling some injuries through camp. Now just working my way back into the rotation,” Watkins said. “We’ve got a great receiver corps. Cayden Lee, who has made a tremendous jump from last season to this season, has been making tremendous plays. He’s been in there doing his thing. Then we’ve got Juice and Tre as well, who have been making big-time plays. There wasn’t really any rush to get back on the field just because we have guys who can go out there and make plays. I’m just excited to be back there out on the field and with my guys making plays.”

Up and Over
Another one of the top highlights from Saturday’s win over Wake Forest was, believe it or not, a 2-yard run. Facing 4th-and-1 in the first quarter in Winston-Salem, Ole Miss turned to its power package with defensive tackle JJ Pegues running the wildcat. It’s been extremely effective as the former offensive star at Oxford High School has bulldozed his way to several first downs. This time, he had to take a different approach.

“I was thinking, let’s just pound it, get the first down and keep the chains moving,” Pegues said. “Jaxson clapped and I saw the D-line just submarine the O-line, and I was like, I can’t go outside, so there’s only one way I can go, and that’s up and over, so I just jumped, and the rest is history.”

Pegues has also been phenomenal on the defensive side, playing a key role on a Rebel defense that is yet to allow a touchdown through three games—a first for the program since 1961. The goal this week: Protect the end zone again.

“We really just take it personal. We feel like we’re the best defense in the country and we practice that way,” Pegues said. “Just not letting them score, just trying to set the tone for SEC playing coming up. We just have that mindset every day, that we’re the best and you’ve got to get through us.”

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