Ole Miss Football Practice Report: Week 2

OXFORD, Miss. – The road to the College Football Playoff has began for Lane Kiffin and Ole Miss with a 76-0 blowout of Furman in the season-opener last weekend. Now, the Rebels turn the page to Week 2 and another accomplished non-conference opponent in Middle Tennessee.

Single-game tickets are still available at OleMissTix.com, but stock is limited, so act fast to secure the final open seats at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium. Click here for our first look at the matchup, as well as our series snapshot, looking at past matchups and common foes between the Rebels and Blue Raiders.

Kiffin held his weekly press conference Monday to recap the Furman victory and look ahead at Middle Tennessee. Walter Nolen, Austin Simmons, Antwane Wells Jr., Louis Moore and Reece McIntyre also met with the media this week, which can be found below.

“Excited to play at home again,” Kiffin said. “Got back to work with our players. Went through the tape then moved on. Middle Tennessee came back and had a heck of a win the other night. Just last year, had Missouri down to the wire. These guys have been in these types of situations. Very well-coached. An SEC head coach, an NFL defensive coordinator. They’re really sound in what they do. We’re going to need to prepare really well this week and play really well at home. We look forward to the challenge, hope our fans show up.”

TURNING THE PAGE
It was a perfect start to the Heisman Trophy campaign for Jaxson Dart, and a perfect start in the CFP campaign for the Rebels, but Kiffin assured his players this week that, in order to accomplish those goals, they’ll have to play like they did in Week 1 every week out.

“I reminded these guys, you have to do it every week,” Kiffin said. “Last year, (Dart) had a really big game and we had a really big game on offense in the opener. Then Week 2 went to Tulane and didn’t play very well. You have to play every week. What you did before has nothing to do with next week. So he needs to prepare really well, and we need to play well around him.”

Ole Miss almost played too well in Week 1, as the game as well in hand at 52-0 when the teams finally broke for halftime. Dart and the rest of the front line rested in the second half, while the second units and beyond went to work completing on the shutout. The coaches of course, were sure to make the most of the situation, as well.

“Our D-line has not looked like that, especially when we went to the twos, over our four years here, and it was exciting. They asked at halftime if we wanted to let the game clock run in the second half, and I was adamantly against it because I wanted to see these guys play,” Kiffin said. “They worked really hard and have good players all around, and the fans who stayed, I wanted them to get the full value out of their ticket.”

HOT START
While Dart was able to relax on the sideline, Austin Simmons made sure the Rebel offense kept putting points on the board. The redshirt freshman lefty made his college football debut and found the end zone on his first pass, hitting Cayden Lee from 35 yards out.

“It felt so surreal. It felt like a dream, honestly,” Simmons said. “It felt like I was reliving my first high school touchdown pass. A whole lot of emotions. It just felt great.”

Simmons secured the No. 2 spot on the depth chart behind Dart in fall camp, and he was solid in his debut, going 7-for-16 for 111 yards and one touchdown, netting 10 yards on the ground as well. Despite being just 19 years old, Simmons has a maturity beyond his years, and he’s confident that he can not only assume the starting role in 2025 but that he can keep the offense humming if he has to step in for Dart in 2024.

“That’s always been my mindset. Ever since last year,” Simmons said. “I came here to compete. Just taking every day, waking up with the mindset that I’m going out here to dominate, really learn and also progress to become a future starter.”

A KID TO THE GAME
Walter Nolen could’ve gone anywhere out of the transfer portal, and if Week 1 is any indication, his choosing Ole Miss could prove to be one of the biggest recruiting wins in program history. Like Dart, Nolen’s workload was light on the night but he still notched a pair of tackles, including one for a loss, and a pass breakup. Choosing Ole Miss, though, came down to knowing that his teammates would have his back even if he didn’t have a strong debut.

“Playing against Ole Miss these last two years, seeing the family orientation they’ve got around here and how they support each other even when things are going bad on the field, that really opened my eyes to see this is the team I want to be at,” Nolen said.

Even when he doesn’t stuff the stat sheet, Nolen draws double teams and disrupts along the defensive front. He’s already a likely first round NFL Draft pick, and an outstanding junior season could vault him into top-10 status. Amid all the noise, Nolen keeps it simple. He just loves to play the game.

“I feel like I’m still a little kid when it comes to the game,” Nolen said. “I’m just excited to be out there and play. I don’t really think about that too much.”

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