OXFORD — Midway through the third quarter of Ole Miss’ 38-35 win over Texas A&M last season, Shemar Turner lost his cool.

The Texas A&M defensive tackle, who had just been beaten on a play by Ole Miss offensive tackle Micah Pettus, rose to his knees and delivered a punch to Pettus’ groin.

The below-the-belt assault earned Turner an ejection and moved Ole Miss closer to a touchdown that gave the Rebels a 14-point lead.

It was a play that, in many ways, was the perfect illustration for Pettus’ career.

Pettus, a 6-foot-7, 350-pound junior from Madison, Ala., arrived at Ole Miss as a mid-year enrollee. He was a hulk of a man but still more than a bit precocious.

“I got dropped off, like, a week after I turned 18,” Pettus said Wednesday, hours after Ole Miss’ first practice of the 2024 campaign. “So, like, you know, I was a kid in a candy shop. So much freedom, you know, learning how to live on my own and everything, and I was immature.”

Pettus was also immensely talented. Early in his freshman year, he earned a starting assignment. He dominated opponents on the field and occasionally irritated teammates in practice.

Pettus is an intense player, so sometimes, that intensity boiled over at inopportune times. However, as he matured off the field, Pettus began to do the same on it.

“It forced me to grow up,” Pettus said. “And on the field, I feel like it goes hand in hand, honestly. You know, you learn about, like, the little things matter and all the players on the field. I think I've grown in a sense, as being a leader. That's something I shied away from because I used to didn't like that spotlight or, like, really, responsibility, you know, all that weight on my shoulders. Now I go to work every day. I feel like being a better person and a better player goes hand in hand.”

But Pettus remains, in his words, “a dog.”

“I've always been that,” Pettus said, laughing. “It’s not something I have to channel. It’s just something that just naturally comes out of me when I get on the football field. I've always been that way since I was a little boy. I've been playing football since I was five years old. I love football with all my heart. It's just something that's in me that I just hopefully continue to be able to show.”

All of that — the maturation, the intensity — collided that November afternoon versus Texas A&M. The Rebels, at that point still in contention for the College Football Playoff, were up one touchdown over the Aggies and were trying to set up a showdown at Georgia.

Pettus and Turner had clashed all afternoon and in the second half, Pettus was beginning to exert his will.

“When you whoop someone’s ass physically, and then I can talk my talk, too,” Pettus said. “I’m just silent until you say something and then I started talking. Mentally, you know, that kind of comes out with that outcome. I can talk the talk and walk the wall.

“You know, we were exchanging words on the field and stuff like that. I said something I probably can't say, and I pancaked him, got after him, and that was his response. He's a hell of a player, though.”

Pettus admitted he wanted to retaliate, but in the moment, he was calm enough to know he couldn’t afford to.

“Cause, you know, because of the game, we had bigger games ahead and stuff like that,” Pettus said. "But, yeah, I knew I had him. I knew I had him at the start of the drive. I just didn't know when he was gonna break.

“I used to fight a lot in practice. Just a competitor, you know, we are out there all day, every day. You know, it should be definitely in practice. Never in the game, though, because I know that there's more at stake.”

There’s a lot at stake for Ole Miss this season. Coming off an 11-2 season and a win in the Chick-fil-A Bowl, the Rebels have added size and length to their offensive line and enter the season as a favorite to earn a spot in the newly-expanded 12-team CFP.

:We got guys that look the part,” Pettus said. “We look different when we get off the bus now.”

With the season opener on Aug. 31 versus Furman just more than four weeks away, Pettus isn’t dodging high expectations this fall.

“You know, when I first got here, the emphasis, you know, like, we're not disrespecting nobody from the past or anything, but, like, when I first got here and they won the Outback Bowl, everybody was excited about that because it had been a while since Ole Miss was winning,” Pettus said. “Every year the standard has changed. Like, we were OK with 10 wins with Matt Corral. We went, what, 8-4 and lost the Texas Bowl. That's not okay. Last year, 11-2. OK, that was good. What's next?

“It's time to, like, you feel me? Every year we're raising the standard. And I feel like it's a championship or bust to me because we got everything we need and we’ve got the coaches, we’ve got the players and and I feel like we’ve got the right mentality. So if we don't, it's on us. Like, I feel like we should go undefeated.”