OXFORD — TJ Dottery was ranked No. 147 in the final Rivals250 in February 2022.
The Montgomery, Ala., native signed with Clemson and played as a true freshman, making 16 tackles, including a stop in the Orange Bowl versus Tennessee.
So when Dottery found himself in Oxford last fall, getting scout teams reps for Ole Miss, the sudden change of scenery was obviously a shock. Dottery, a 6-foot-1, 225-pound linebacker from Montgomery, Ala., decided to make the best of it.
“It wasn't the plan, but each and every day, I just looked at it as an opportunity to get better,” Dottery said Friday, shortly after Ole Miss’ preseason practice earlier in the morning. “Like I said, going against the starting offense every day, it can only make me better.
“So just going 110 percent and also just giving those guys a look for who they were playing that week, so that would play the big part in it as well.”
Dottery earned rave reviews all of last season, turning eyes in practice after practice as the Rebels posted a 10-2 regular season and a berth in the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl in Atlanta. Dottery was deemed eligible to play in the game versus Penn State and Ole Miss utilized him immediately. Dottley recorded one tackle and one quarterback hurry in the Rebels’ win.
“It felt good, a confidence booster for sure,” Dottery said. “Just being able to get out there after not being out there for a while and just being able to get back in the flow of things and live game speed, it was really fun and it was awesome. It was amazing.”
Dottery elected to transfer to Ole Miss, in part, because of his relationship with former Alabama defensive coordinator Pete Golding, who is now entering his second season in Oxford in the same capacity.
“Coming out of high school, I had a relationship with Pete Golding starting from my sophomore year, and I kind of wanted to play for him out of high school, but things ended up going different ways,” Dottery said. “So just looking at how things came around and me being able to be under him now and learn from him has been great.”
Ole Miss, which debuted at No. 6 in the Coaches Poll earlier this week, doesn’t have a lot of question marks on the roster. Linebacker, however, might be one, depending on how certain players fit into the system. Dottery, for his part, appears to be in line for significant playing time.
“Physically, me just being able to play physical, fast, smart and talent wise, just versatility, being able to play in different positions, like you saw me at the Peach Bowl playing at the jack position and now being able to get some reps at stack backers. So just being able to play in different positions and being able to stay on the field as long as possible.”
On Thursday, Golding referred to multiple linebackers working with in-helmet communications entering this season. Dottery confirmed Friday he’s been one of the players who is working with the technology, which allows one player on the defense to communicate with Golding until 15 seconds remain on the play clock.
“It's been cool,” Dottery said. “It’s been really cool. I've had it all fall camp, so it's been really good just being able to talk to him, especially with the offense and how good our offense is with communication and the way they run things. So just being able to have communication with him when they're checking things has been good.”
Ole Miss opens the season Aug. 31 versus Furman at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium.
