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1. JJ Pegues has had a dominant August as he's pushed his way into Ole Miss' two-deep at defensive tackle after transferring from Auburn following the 2021 season.
Pegues had a pair of quarterback "sacks" during Saturday's scrimmage inside Vaught-Hemingway Stadium, earning praise from Ole Miss coach Lane Kiffin.
Kiffin has spent much of his professional life game-planning against elite defensive players, so he knows them when he sees them. Kiffin said Saturday Pegues has a real chance to become a "big-time" defensive tackle in the Southeastern Conference.
For his part, Pegues is just happy to be back in his hometown of Oxford and settled into a position that is starting to feel like home.
"I'm just trying to get the defense down and being able to work on myself," Pegues said. "The period of me coming here and not knowing what to expect, the coaches have given me goals and put it on me to take it and either get better or get worse. I just take it on me every day and try to get one place every day."
Pegues said the time at Ole Miss has felt like a fresh start.
"Me coming back home and being in a new system and this is my first year now playing (only) defensive line," Pegues said. "I played offense my whole life and I feel like everything is a fresh start, which is why I like to learn a lot."
Pegues said he's still learning techniques at defensive line, though he said his experience as an offensive player has helped him adapt to the new position.
2. Nick Broeker didn't play much on Saturday. At this point, Ole Miss knows what the veteran offensive lineman can do.
The Rebels want him to be healthy and sharp when the season rolls around, and the need to develop some depth is great enough that resting Broeker on some Saturdays in August and giving those snaps to a younger player just makes sense.
Broeker discussed Saturday's scrimmage, the Rebels' offense and that sought-after depth.
2b. On Saturday, when Mason Brooks got dinged up a bit and had to leave the scrimmage, Jeremy James moved from left tackle back to right tackle.
The Rebels then inserted redshirt freshman Jayden Williams at left tackle. The 6-foot-5, 300-pounder from Conway, Ark., has been one of the bright stories of preseason camp, as he's positioning himself for playing time now and possible stardom down the road.
Williams discussed his camp and more earlier this week.
3. JJ Henry was buried on the depth chart a bit last season.
Instead of sulking, the redshirt freshman from McKinney, Texas, focused on learning and improving. It's paying off, as Henry appears to be pushing for a spot in Ole Miss' wide receiver rotation this fall.
"I just want to stand out," Henry said. "Not playing a lot last year, coming back and having a year under my belt and knowing the offense and being able to go 100 percent, knowing what I do and knowing my assignments.
"It's really just knowing the offense, being comfortable with the scheme and knowing what I have to do and being comfortable with the guys around me."
Henry said he learned a lot from Ole Miss' veteran wide receivers last season, something he's taken into preseason camp.
"I learned that I'm really patient," Henry said. "Standing behind (Jonathan) Mingo, (Braylon Sanders), (Dontario) Drummond, I just had to be patient. I knew my time was coming.
"At practice, I learned off those guys. They told me tips and how to maneuver and I took those tips to the field and it showed."
4. Ladarius Tennison knew it was time to leave Auburn after last season. When he went searching for a fit, it didn't take long.
"I talked to my family and I just felt like Auburn wasn't a great fit for me," Tennison said. "I just felt (Ole Miss) was the place for me, just the scheme and how Coach Partridge uses their players. I felt like this was a better fit for me."
So far, it appears Tennison made a good decision, as he's looked strong as a safety playing close to the line of scrimmage in the Rebels' scheme.
"It's been great," Tennison said. "Having two defensive coordinators at Auburn, you learn a lot, coming from being a freshman, you see a lot of things, you learn and you adapt. Coming over here, I've seen a lot of plays and concepts and it's been easier to adapt."
Tennison admitted that he's looking forward to facing his former teammates on Oct. 15 in Oxford.
"I'm going to play hard every game, but that game, I've got to get my get-back," Tennison said, smiling.
5. The season is less than three weeks away (and less than two weeks away for Vanderbilt), so let's take a tour of the SEC preseason camps, courtesy my colleagues at Rivals.com.
At Alabama, the Tide's first-team offensive line raised a few red flags this spring when it allowed Bryce Young to be tapped down 10 times in the backfield during the A-Day game. While stats weren’t made available following Saturday’s scrimmage, sources in attendance stated that the reigning Heisman Trophy winner was much better protected.
Since its spring game, Alabama added Vanderbilt transfer Tyler Steen at tackle and as seen two starters — Emil Ekiyor Jr. and Darrian Dalcourt — return from injury.
All three players were included in the first-team setup Saturday as Steen manned the left tackle position while Ekiyor and Dalcourt retained their roles at right guard and center respectively. Five-star sophomore J.C. Latham was the first-team right tackle while junior Javion Cohen and graduate student Kendall Randolph split time at left guard. Redshirt sophomore Seth McLaughlin also rotated with Dalcourt at the center position.
Alabama’s second-team offensive line primarily consisted of junior Damieon George Jr., freshman Tyler Booker, McLaughlin, Cohen and redshirt junior Amari Kight from left to right.
“I thought the first offensive line was improved,” Saban said during his post-scrimmage press conference. “I thought the second offensive line struggled, struggled in protection, struggled to run the ball. But I was encouraged by the running backs and some of the plays that they were able to make, some of the runs that they were able to run. So, I would say all in all I thought the first line made some improvement. I thought the second line struggled a little bit at times, but I think every unit had its ups and downs and I think that’s what I'm talking about when I talk about maintaining consistency.”
At Arkansas, the Razorbacks held their first scrimmage of fall camp Saturday in a closed setting. Head coach Sam Pittman seemed fairly pleased, but made it clear that there is plenty of work to be done before the season starts.
"We’re not there yet," Pittman said. "The first part of fall a lot of times it’s you’re not worried about playing together as a team. You’re worried about surviving practice. I mean it was hotter than hot out there. Then the next mode you go is you’re worried about your position and where you’re at on the depth chart."
Pittman did add that he thinks his team is farther along at this point in fall camp this year than his team was last year.
"We’re not a unit yet," Pittman said. "We’ve got some good players and we’re not a consistent unit anywhere yet. But we’re further along right now than we were last year at this point."
During today's closed scrimmage, the team ran 110 plays and worked through different specific scenarios.
"We went 1 offense vs. 2 defense, 2 offense vs. 1 defense, 3 vs. 3, they came back and did good on good, 1-on-1, 2-on-2, 3-on-3, somewhere around close to 30 plays in those two racks apiece," Pittman said. "And then we had a third-down situation where we stayed out there eight plays in a row. We had a high-red (zone) situation, low red situation, then a 2-minute."
Pittman mentioned that the team thudded rather than tackling in today's practice. He said freshman offensive lineman Andrew Chamblee was the only player to exit the scrimmage and not return.
"We thudded, but it was a thud, now," Pittman said. "A thud that will knock them down. I think we did the right thing."
At Auburn, T.J. Finley is Auburn’s returning starter but many had already written him off in the battle for the 2022 quarterback job.
Finley’s not giving it up so easy, however.
The junior and former LSU transfer was probably the standout quarterback in the Tigers’ first preseason scrimmage Saturday night in Jordan-Hare Stadium.
“I thought tonight, he was good,” said Auburn coach Bryan Harsin. “Led the team down the field; he executed well when he needed to in some critical moments. Can improve in some of the easier throws we had tonight; don't know if that was him or not. I think there's some things we can improve in those areas in terms of an accuracy standpoint. Overall, I thought he operated well.”
Finley is competing with sophomore Zach Calzada, a Texas A&M transfer, and redshirt freshman Robby Ashford, an Oregon transfer, for the starting job. Harsin saw positives from the entire group.
“Quarterbacks, I thought all did some really good things,” he said. “Finley operated well tonight. That was good to see, and I thought he — we had a long drive on the very first drive with the first group; it was about 14 plays, so he executed well on that drive.
“I thought Robby did well too making some plays and operated the huddle and did some good things on his part. Calzada, solid tonight, had a touchdown as well.”
When it comes to Finley, Harsin is most impressed with his command of the offense and the leadership he provides to his teammates.
“He understands,” said Harsin. “He's very much like a coach on the field. He understands what we're trying to accomplish. He conceptually picks things up very quickly. Listens to the details and all the little nuances of the plays -- what everybody's supposed to be doing.
“If there's a coaching point made, not just for him but for everybody, he'll remember that coaching point and be able to echo it whenever it comes up -- or remind guys. It doesn't have to be a coach, which you appreciate.”
At Georgia, Kirby Smart met with the media following Saturday’s first of three preseason scrimmages at Sanford Stadium.
“I didn’t think it was the best of our nine practices,” Smart said. “I thought we practiced hard, but I was a little disappointed in the enthusiasm and leadership of the defense. I didn’t think there was a lot of support there, because when things went bad, there wasn’t someone to grab the bull by the horns and get them back headed in the right direction.”
The Bulldogs will take Sunday off before getting back to work Monday. A second scrimmage is set for next Saturday.
“We have a long way to go to get to where we need to be,” Smart said. “That’s nothing to do with Oregon, that’s nothing to do with anybody we play; that’s got everything to do with the Georgia Bulldogs. We’ve got to look in our eyes as coaches and figure out what, guys, we have to do the best and go execute that. We’ve got good football players on this team; we just didn’t necessarily play with the right energy and enthusiasm across the board as whole today.”
At LSU, quarterback Garrett Nussmeier has a Grade 1 sprained ankle. LSU coach Brian Kelly called it minor and expects Nussmeier back in the rotation soon. Arizona transfer Jayden Daniel took the majority of the first team reps with Nussmeier out but Kelly mentioned that if Nussmeier able then he would have gotten first team reps too.
Could QB1 battle be between Daniels and Nussmeier? That appears likely, as both have shown an ability to extend plays with their legs.
At Mississippi State, the Bulldogs' kicking struggles were well documented in 2021, converting only 14 of their 25 field goal attempts, but with a new year comes a chance for redemption.
Brandon Ruiz is out seeking professional opportunities after an injury-riddled senior year at Starkville, and redshirt freshman Nolan McCord is off to Western Kentucky.
With the open roster spots come new faces in a pair of graduate transfers.
Massimo Biscardi is staying in the Southeast after a 4-year career as a starter for Coastal Carolina, which saw him make 80.7% of his field goals and featured an All-Sun Belt campaign in 2020. Biscardi will duke it out either Northern Colorado lefty Ben Raybon after making eight of his fourteen attempts with two 50+ yarders last season.
While the two are both using their final eligibility in Starkville, there’s no bad blood in the kicking competition.
“It’s going smoothly. We’re coming out each day, focusing on each other and ourselves and just getting better individually and competing when we can,” said Biscardi
“Yeah, it’s going great. And we’re pushing each other every day, making sure we’re coming out here and working hard. And having a good time when we’re doing it,” Raybon added.
Getting accumulated at your new school can be a difficult task for someone transferring in, but Biscardi and Raybon have leaned on each other during the transition.
“Like, kind of supporting each other through the whole thing. We’re both new here, so we’re both learning the culture, the team culture, and everything like that. We’re just trying to push each other individually and doing our jobs to the best of our ability every day,” said Biscardi
“And the other thing I could say is we came in, and we’re both similar people, I’d say. And we can relate our own experiences through five years of college football at different places and use that to build each other and to get better each and every day,” said Raybon.
While both will join Mississippi State for their final year of eligibility, each had a different reason for coming here. Biscardi wanted to be somewhere he felt loved, and Raybon wanted to bet on himself.
“I think it was different for both of us. For me, when I first got into the portal, it was just the whole coaching staff followed me immediately. I just wanted to be somewhere I was going to be supported and loved, and I felt the love from Mississippi State right away. And it was an easy decision,” said Biscardi.
“For me, I kind of just took my last year and jumped in the portal betting on myself. I wanted to shoot for the stars, and obviously the SEC is about as big as it gets in the college football world. And I couldn’t be happier where I ended up,” said Raybon.
The competition for the placekicking and kickoff spots could go down to the last week of training camp, as both are still competing for the two spots.
“Well, right now we’re just competing, coming out here every day and trusting our preparation. And we’re just still competing for the job. So we’ll let you know,” said Biscardi
“Yeah, you’ll see on the first Saturday who is doing what. But like I said, we’re pushing each other every day, and we’re competing and keeping the attitudes positive and having fun,” said Raybon.
At South Carolina, one area coach Shane Beamer was eager to see the offense improve on after the scrimmage was in the red zone, citing multiple examples of the defense bowing up inside the 20 and ending a drive.
“We need to be able to execute offense and defense down there,” Beamer said. “Certainly the defense is going to be a little bit ahead. And a lot of the red zone stuff, I think Thursday was the first day we installed red zone. Yesterday we did basically the 10-yard-line in, Thursday was about the 25 to the 10. So we really haven’t been, I don’t want to say practicing it, but the stuff we run, we don’t have a ton of work on it.”
In terms of specifics, the early part of the scrimmage brought the issues into focus.
“He (Spencer Rattler) came out and took that first offense right down the field and ended the drive with a stop where we had to kick a field goal,” Beamer said. “And then the second drive, we came out there and it was a field goal. So we’ve got to be better at sustaining drives.”
At Tennessee, the UT offense is facing quite the task heading into Josh Heupel’s second season.
It returns one of the best wide receivers in the country in Cedric Tillman, yet question marks fill the remainder of the room.
“A year ago, we were walking into the same situation – Ced was a guy that nobody knew about,” Vols offensive coordinator Alex Golesh told the media. “Velus (Jones Jr.) was a guy nobody knew about. So I think it’ll kind of play itself out, whether people can feel like they need to roll coverage that way or do something unique to take him away. Obviously if it becomes a one-man show, that would be really hard offensively, but I think in this system, I think looking back at it over the years, it’s kind of played itself out.”
Tillman burst on to the scene last season when he caught 72 passes for 1,205 yards and 14 touchdowns. He set the school record for most consecutive games with a touchdown catch, scoring in the final seven games of the year, as he carries the streak into 2022.
The Las Vegas native combined with Velus Jones and JaVonta Payton for 2,301 yards and 25 touchdowns. But Jones and Payton graduated, and Tillman needs someone else to step up to take pressure off of him.
“We feel good with who’s going to be opposite of him, in terms of whether it’s one guy or a group of guys,” Golesh said. “We feel like this is as deep as we’ve been in the slot, going into camp at least. There’s a bunch of guys that have to prove something in that room in the same breadth as they did a year ago, a bunch of guys that had to prove something in that room.
“I think if (Tillman) was a one-man show, it would be really hard. I’m pretty confident that it won’t be that way.”
Tennessee returns just 39 catches, 439 receiving yards and three receiving touchdowns in its wide receiver room when you take out Tillman’s production. Only one of the five receivers who contributed to that production had double-digits catches: Jalin Hyatt, who caught 21 passes for 226 yards and two touchdowns.
Hyatt has pieced together a terrific offseason, drawing rave reviews from those inside the program for his improved work ethic. The junior figures to be a fixture in the slot to help Tillman.
Still, the Vols need a receiver on the outside opposite of Tillman to step up.
“Jalin Hyatt seems like a different guy mentally,” wide receivers coach Kelsey pope said. “Physically he’s gained about 8-10 pounds. But the competitiveness that he showed last year, he’s channeling it in a different direction (now). You see him respond the right way. You see him coach guys up when he’s not in. He’s really taken on that accountability role for himself but also for the (wide receiver) room.
“I feel like Ramel (Keyton) did some positive things (on the outside). Walker Merrill has been out there, has made some plays, operated really efficiently. Bru (McCoy) has done some really good things in some of our practices. That’s a point of competition here still in the back half of training camp. We’ve got to have multiple guys step up and certainly would like at least one of them to step up and grab hold of that position.”
The Mountain Dew is beginning to wear off as the Vols creep towards the second half of fall camp. Bodies are starting to wear down after being excited for the start of camp, as is the mind.
Despite the challenges of fall camp, if Tennessee’s wide receiver room is going to take the next step and take pressure off of Tillman, it’s going to need to find consistency within the details and execution.
“It becomes more of a mental game,” Pope said. “Now, when your body is tired, it really separates the elite from the average guy. So the detail, the execution, those are things that are going to help you be consistent.
“Coach Heup talks about competitive composure. In order to be competitive when you’re tired, you have to stay composed when the bullets are flying. And that detail piece has to be incorporated. You have to apply it. That’s what has allowed us to be consistent over the last couple days.”
At Vanderbilt, the defensive secondary appears to be a strength this preseason.
“The way that we look at the secondary is we want to get as many long athletes in here as we can and put the best five players out there,” Vanderbilt defensive coordinator Nick Howell said. “I would say, ‘DB.’ Let’s put our best five DBs out there in the best combination that we can.”
Howell and defensive backs coach Dan Jenkins go into the 2022 season with plenty of experienced defensive backs on the Vandy roster. The Commodores return members of the secondary who combined to make 148 tackles and four interceptions in 2021.
It’s a group led by fifth-year senior and safety Maxwell Worship and senior cornerback Jaylen Mahoney.
"We’ve got a lot of numbers in the room so it’s kind of fun to be able to mix and match every day who’s going to get the opportunities and try to be able to maximize different situations,” Jackson said. “Our guys are thinking, they’re processing at the same time that we’re building techniques and fundamentals. But I love the depth – and it also creates competition which every day it’s another guy stepping up. That’s going to do nothing but elevate the floor of the room.”
Because of Vanderbilt’s base defensive scheme, it’s common to see the Commodores shifting into different roles and moving around to different parts of the field during preseason practice, the 13th of which was held Friday morning. Worship had generally been aligned at safety for much of camp, for instance, but moved toward the line of scrimmage Friday while sophomore CJ Taylor played alongside De’Rickey Wright on the back end.
Wright, a former four-star prospect who made 24 tackles in eight games last season, has been a standout throughout camp despite wearing a cast on his left hand to protect a minor finger injury. John Howse and Steven Sannieniola have also had opportunities at the safety spots.
At cornerback, Mahoney has been on the opposite side of the field of sophomore Tyson Russell. Russell made 15 stops as a true freshman in 2021.
Jeremy Lucien, a transfer from Connecticut who made 29 stops and picked off two passes last season, will also factor heavily into the cornerback rotation. Justin Harris, BJ Anderson and Marlen Sewell have been involved in the two-deep rotation playing with both the first-team and second-team units.
“Lucien adds a calming presence for me a little bit,” Jackson said. “He’s played a lot of football – he’s really the most-experienced guy in terms, of playing time, in the room. So he comes in, he understands how fall camp works, he understands different coverages, different techniques.
“He just adds such a level of maturity in the meeting room. Our young guys can lean on him on how to do things. He does a good job with staying positive, too.”
Vanderbilt ranked 114th nationally in 2021 by allowing 264.2 passing yards per game and ranked 125th by giving up 10.05 yards per completion. It hopes to drastically improve those numbers by having a cupboard full of defensive backs apt at playing multiple spots in the secondary.
Those that can justify they are up for that task will take the field Aug. 27 at Hawai’i.
6. The college football season is getting closer by the day. So this week, I'm taking a look at the Pac 12.
Here are my predictions for the league that is about to decimated by the departures of USC and UCLA:
Pac 12 North:
1. Oregon
2. Washington
3. Oregon State
4. Washington State
5. California
6. Stanford
Pac 12 South:
1. Utah
2. USC
3. UCLA
4. Arizona State
5. Arizona
6. Colorado
Pac 12 Champ: Utah
7. And here are my predictions for my sneaky favorite college football conference, the Sun Belt:
East Divison:
1. Coastal Carolina
2. Appalachian State
3. Georgia State
4. Old Dominion
5. Marshall
6. James Madison
7. Georgia Southern
West Division:
1. Louisiana-Lafayette
2. South Alabama
3. Southern Miss
4. Troy
5. Texas State
6. Arkansas State
7. ULM
Sun Belt Conference champion: Louisiana-Lafayette
8. I've predicted the AFC and the NFC. I'll give my playoff predictions next week. This week, I'm jinxing your favorite NFL players with my sure-to-go-horribly wrong individual award predictions.
MVP -- Josh Allen, QB, Buffalo Bills
Offensive Player of the Year: Ja'Marr Chase, WR, Cincinnati Bengals
Defensive Player of the Year: Micah Parsons, LB, Dallas Cowboys
Offensive Rookie of the Year: Breece Hall, RB, New York Jets
Defensive Rookie of the Year: Aidan Hutchinson, DE, Detroit Lions
Comeback Player of the Year: Jamies Winston, QB, New Orleans Saints
Coach of the Year: Brandon Staley, Los Angeles Chargers
9. It’s time to eat. Here’s our resident Parisian chef, Burton Webb, with Taste of the Place, Lesson 147 — Saffron Seared Pork and Rice.
This is a dish that I was able to eat the other day and it is wildly good. So why not share, right? It will serve as an easy go-to lunch and serve it up with rice and collard greens and you’re in business.
Tidbit #1: You will need to cook the onions first until soft and then take them out of the pan. At this point, you will place the medallions of pork inside the hot pan to sear. If you kept the onions in, you would brown them too much and the pork wouldn’t properly sear because of the surface area of the heat.
Tidbit #2: The reason to accompany collard greens with this dish is for the acidity that their broth carries with them. Pair that with a splash or two of hot sauce as well. Very good combination.
Tidbit #3: After your pork has cooked for 30 minutes with the lid, take the lid and pork off. Turn your heat to medium-high and reduce the mixture until 1/4 of its original volume to make your sauce. Add the pork back in once ready.
Things you will need:
4 people
Preparation time - 5 minutes
Cooking time - 45 minutes
Blonde Ale to drink
Utensils needed:
Work surface and chef’s knife
Measuring cups
Mixing bowl
Spatula
Tongs
Sauté pan with lid
Ingredients needed:
1 Pork tenderloin sliced into medallions
3-4 Oranges, juice only
2 Tsp dried coriander
1 Container saffron (pinch)
3 Onions sliced
2 Tbsp butter and olive oil
Mise en Plac
Step 1: Place the butter and olive oil in your sauté pan over medium heat. Once it melts, add in the onions. Cook for 5 minutes.
Step 2: Salt and pepper each side of the pork medallions and then remove the onions from the pan. Place the pieces into the pan to sear on each side for 2 minutes.
Step 3: Now add the rest of the ingredients to the pan alongside the sautéed onions. Cover and let cook for 30 minutes.
Final
Step 4: Take the pork out and place it on a side plate while you increase the heat to medium-high to reduce the liquid. Once ready, serve up with rice and spoon over the sauce with the onions!
From the Mississippian in Paris, Bon Appétit!
10. We'll have coverage of Ole Miss football and whatever else may come up this week on RebelGrove.com. Until then, here are some links of interest to me -- and hopefully, to you -- for your reading pleasure:
Doug Pederson Healed Himself. Now He’s Trying to Heal the Jacksonville Jaguars. - The Ringer
Ja’Marr Chase even more unstoppable? Bengals evolving role in slot and beyond - The Athletic
'He's everything you would wish for,' but Joe Burrow could be even better in Year 3
How the ESPN-Big Ten Split Impacts Everyone in College Sports
'Kind of a bold move in retrospect': Behind Tom Brady's trophy toss at Bucs' boat parade
At the Field of Dreams, a baseball family mourns and remembers
Rosecrans: At MLB’s Field of Dreams game, family, memory and spectacle align - The Athletic
'Everybody is a little disappointed': Fernando Tatis Jr. lets down Padres with PED suspension
Cubs are not ready for prime time, but 'aggressive' offseason plan could change that
Top 30 MLB free agents for 2022-23 offseason: An early look at a special class
Nico Hoerner gives Cubs options in free agency: Go big at shortstop or spend elsewhere
Gammons: On Cape Cod, baseball greatness is nurtured before our eyes each summer
How LeBron James playing alongside Bronny connects with Lakers contract extension
Jayson Tatum opens up on lessons from Celtics' finals loss, Kevin Durant trade
The Ted Lasso fan's guide to the Premier League
How Chelsea are able to spend so much money this summer
I've Got Five On It: First-year coaches making recruiting waves
The latest on Georgia-Florida game in Jacksonville, here’s what we know
The White House privately demanded Twitter ban me months before the company did so
Covid face masks 'devastating' bird populations all over the world
