By Adam Brown
Sports Editor
adam.brown@hottytoddy.com
The Ole Miss Rebels opened week two of practice with their first scrimmage of fall camp on Saturday.
Ole Miss head coach Lane Kiffin told the media Monday that it was good to get back into the stadium.
“There was some good and bad like any first scrimmage,” Kiffin said. “We did not tackle, but everything else was scrimmage format. The offense outplayed the defense.”
According to Kiffin, the Landshark defense currently has a number of members unable to play for reasons related to injuries and COVID-19.
The Ole Miss defense had to adjust their play Saturday to keep up with the ultra fast offense.
“We struggled to the lineup,” Kiffin said. “We go ultra-fast tempo, especially, when we get to Saturday when there are not periods broken down, and go slower at times, and we don’t game. I think that was an adjustment for them. That they deal with and got to learn from that.”
During the scrimmage, the quarterbacks showed off their abilities in the passing game, and Jerrion Ealy was able to break away for the long run.
Kiffin said the quarterbacks completed several big passes to Elijah Moore.
Matt Corral and John Rhys Plumlee enter as the two candidates vying to lead the team at quarterback. On Saturday, both took snaps in the scrimmage.
“Matt played extremely well,” Kiffin said. “Hit some big plays was really accurate. John had a little bit more up and down and did some really good things.
“Plumlee fumbled once for a big turnover, but both of them did some things to excite us,” Kiffin said.
Kiffin told the media that Plumlee is not getting reps at any other position, and is fully focused on playing as a quarterback.
As fall semester classes begin at Ole Miss, the football team is sticking to their morning practice routine.
“We were always under the twenty-hour rule last week so we never had the old school training camp model of having them all day long,” said Kiffin. They just have to have different lift times now.”
