RELATED - PHOTOS: REBS CONTINUE FIRST WEEK | PRACTICE OBSERVATIONS

Ole Miss head coach Hugh Freeze spoke to the media during the early portion of Thursday's practice. Below is the transcript, as the fifth-year head coach discusses injuries, practices to this point and other topics.

How have things been to this point:

“Really good. Yesterday, a little sluggish. We went pads the day before. For us, we don’t take to the ground a lot anymore. When you put shoulder pads on, we probably have two practices where taking to the ground is a large portion of practice. I expect to see the same tempo in what we have on today as we would in full pads. Yesterday’s tempo was not quite as good as the day before. We’ve got a difficult stretch facing us today, and then two-a-days tomorrow. We’ll push hard for those, and then Saturday we’ll back off and just have walk-throughs and Meet the Rebels day. Gotta push through these next three.”

Has one side been ahead of the other:

“Typically I would say the defense is ahead, but I’ve been pleased with a large portion of our offensive performance against them, particularly with the ones. Chad (Kelly) really has picked up kind of where he left off at the end of fall. I think we’ve done some really nice things offensively. Defensively, they’ve had their moments, too, where they’ve dominated different pods in practice. It’s been a pretty good battle thus far.”

How has the offensive line looked:

“Been pleased. I think we have good potential there. Until you get some games under your belt you’re not quite sure ‘cause a lot of the kids haven’t played significant snaps. I think Alex (Givens) has performed well. Greg Little’s performed well. Rod Taylor’s performed well. Michael Howard I really like. He needs to gain some weight; don’t know if he’ll be quite ready this year. And the guys that have played snaps for us — (Robert) Conyers and Sean (Rawlings), Javon (Patterson), Daronte (Bouldin) and Jordan (Sims) — are right there. The young guys look good. I think we’ve got a good class.”

How has Rod Taylor looked at tackle:

“Very good. He’s an athletic kid. Probably easier for him to learn there. It’s not quite as much going on as guard. I think between Alex and Rod and Greg and Sean we’ve got four pretty good guys. Once we get Jeremy (Liggins) back it gives us a fifth one. I think we’ve got some potential there.”

Is there an update on Fadol Brown's injury status:

“He started running yesterday. He gave me the thumbs up, and yesterday it was a little tender but not bad. He’ll run again today, and I think the plan is hopefully for him to do indo on Sunday. We’ll know more after we get him out here and start cutting him some.”

Which cornerbacks have gotten the most reps:

“Jalen Julius, Carlos Davis, Tony Bridges, Ken Webster, Kailo Moore, Jaylon Jones. Those are the six guys that are getting the reps. There’s been some big plays given up, where some of that you give to some receiver play that I think’s been good. Some (plays) their technique has to be more consistent in all of them. But I do think Jalen is going to be a player. Carlos has come on. Jaylon Jones is going to be a player. Of course we know Tony and Ken Webster have had a lot of reps, and you expect those two to be leaders back there.”

What is the tight end situation behind Evan Engram:

“Taz (Zettergren) and Ty (Quick) know exactly what to do. Those young ones have the potential to be really good. Octavious Cooley, if he can handle the mental curve of learning everything that goes on at that position, he has the talent to be a special one. No doubt he has the physique and the athletic ability to be, arguably, the best we’ve had since I’ve been here, all-around. He’s not Evan (Engram) in running routes, but he has the potential to be maybe more suited to do maybe everything.’

Early impressions of Oregon State transfer Rommel Mageo:

“Rommel’s a quick learner. I think the speed to which we play may be a little different than how he’s been used to practicing. There’s been some adjustment to that, but we’re excited about him. I love him as a kid. I think he’s a tremendous leader, and he’s going to get us lined up right, get his cleats in the ground and play extremely hard.”

What about Josiah Coatney:

“He gets better every day. Every day. Coming off that knee injury, we knew it’d be a process. But every day he starts flashing a little more.”

When do you expect Jeremy Liggins to return to practice:

“I don’t know. I’m expecting (him to return) probably towards the end of camp. But I try to stay out of some things that are not really my giftedness; normally get some others to help me with that. But he’s starting to work out with the strength staff either today or tomorrow. Hopefully that will happen sooner than later.”

Has Myles Hartsfield continued to progress:

“He’s been running with the ones, mostly. We’re rotating that quite a bit; a lot of rotation there. But I look up a lot of times and they depend on him. Being here in the spring really helped him. He’s a very athletic kid.”

What is the status of Tony Conner and practice time:

“We’ve got a plan in place. I think we’re holding him out today, not because anything’s happened, but we’re managing him and Conyers and Fadol. Those are three we’ve got to kind of manage. With the knee injuries that Conyers and Tony have suffered, we just want to make sure we manage them in a way that gives them the best chance to have a successful, sustainable year.”

Any injuries to this point:

“Today’s really the first day we’ve had anybody out. It’s just little things, but we’ve got several out today. Lodge took a hit yesterday on his head. Just precautionary, making sure he’s good. Markell Pack’s got a tendon issue going on in his hand. That’s probably the most concerning, if there’s one that’s concerning and could be a lengthy period of time, that’s probably the one that concerns me the most. C.J. Moore’s just got a strain in his pec, and (Terry) Caldwell has a sprained ankle.”

What's the scenario if Markell Pack misses substantial time:

“We’d have to do some moving around. Van (Jefferson) has had an outstanding camp. Quincy (Adeboyejo) gives us a lot of flexibility because he’s played inside a lot. He could do that. We’d just have to see. It would take some adjustment, but we feel good about our receivers.”