OXFORD – Tony Conner isn’t making excuses.
He’s also not pretending that there isn’t a transition to playing Southeastern Conference football post-knee injury.
Through four games, Conner has just four tackles, and he admits he’s still trying to return to his former form and get used to the brace he plays with to protect his surgically-repaired knee.
“Everything is normal,” Conner said Monday. “It’s still just a day-to-day thing with Pat (Jernigan) and his training staff, just going to treatment and everything.”
Conner gave up a key touchdown to Florida State in the Rebels’ season opening loss in Orlando. Leading 28-6 just before halftime, Ole Miss gave up a touchdown to the Seminoles in the final seconds of the second quarter. Travis Rudolph beat Conner on an inside release to score the touchdown, the first points of a 30-0 Florida State run.
“Coming out in the second half, I’m just sitting in the locker room and it kind of just stiffed up,” Conner said. “I can tell that I wasn’t the way I was at first when I came out for the first half. Pat always tells me to let him know if something is bothering me, and I did.”
Two weeks later, Conner said he feels more and more comfortable by the day.
“Just like the start of camp, the first day going out there, I wasn’t as comfortable as I am now,” Conner said. “The first game played against Florida State, they cut a lot. I was out there thinking about that at the same time. It’s just a day-to-day thing, each game just getting better and getting prepared for it.”
Conner said he’s also working hard to adjust to running with the brace.
“It’s like you’re carrying another leg out there,” Conner said. “Speed-wise, I feel fine, but I’ve got to keep continuing to do more and more things after practice and work on it.”
Conner’s knee problems began last season in Tuscaloosa, Ala., when he was injured during the Rebels’ win over the Crimson Tide. Conner tried to return late in the season but wasn’t 100 percent. He had surgery prior to the Rebels’ Sugar Bowl win over Oklahoma State.
No. 19 Ole Miss (1-1) meets No. 1 Alabama (2-0) on Saturday afternoon in Oxford (2:30 p.m., CBS), but Conner said he won’t be thinking about his knee injury when he lines up against the Crimson Tide.
“Last year was last year,” Conner said. “This year, I’m just looking for a total different outcome. Every game, I just pray and hope that there won’t be any injuries for either team. I’m going to go out here to practice and make sure everybody’s focusing on the little things this week.
“Every game is really important, but we had a meeting yesterday and a lot of guys were saying, ‘It’s Alabama week.’ We should prepare like every game is like Alabama week, but for the young guys, just tell them to make sure to just play ball and be comfortable. You’re going to have mistakes. Each team is going to have mistakes. The only thing you can do is play the next play because if you think about the play you messed up on, you’re going to think about it the entire game. Just play football.”
Against Alabama, that means being prepared for freshman quarterback Jalen Hurts and a very talented, dangerous receiver corps.
“It’s a good program,” Conner said. “As I’ve been watching them, they’ve got a lot of speed guys. Their offense is a lot like our offense. We know what they can do. Take nothing from Alabama, we’ve just got to go out and play right.
“From watching that first game, (Hurts) is a true freshman but he played tremendously well. We’ve got to go out and play our ‘Landshark’ defense. Take nothing from him; he’s a great quarterback from what I’ve seen. We’ve just got to execute. …As a young quarterback, we’re just going to have to go out and execute on our half. We’re going to have to make plays. He’s a dual-threat quarterback; he can run and he can pass. I’m sure our coaches have a great game plan up and going against him.”
