OXFORD -- Lane Kiffin doesn’t usually talk about injuries, and at times, the Southeastern Conference-mandated injury reports have been difficult to decipher, but on Monday, the Ole Miss coach was offering up a health update on Tre Harris.
The Ole Miss wide receiver is third in the SEC in receptions with 59, trailing only Mississippi State’s Kevin Coleman Jr. (62) and Arkansas’ Andrew Armstrong (61), despite having missed the Rebels’ last three games.
Harris, who has 59 receptions for 987 yards and six touchdowns, suffered an injury (believed to be a groin injury) in Ole Miss’ overtime loss at LSU on Oct. 12.
“We’re looking stronger being out there with Tre now looking like he’s ready to go,” Kiffin said Monday as the ninth-ranked Rebels (8-2 overall, 4-2 SEC) prepare for Saturday’s 11 a.m. CST kickoff at Florida (5-5, 3-4). The game will be televised on ESPN.
“We haven’t had him for about 3 1/2 games and in that time, I think Jaxson (Dart) has led the country in passing. So I’m excited to get the best receiver in the country back.”
Kiffin also said this week marks the first time this season the Rebels’ first- and second-string offensive line has been “healthy and practicing,” former Florida defensive end Princely Umanmielen is “just coming back” from an ankle injury suffered early in the season and former LSU running back Logan Diggs, who has yet to make his Ole Miss debut while recovering from an ACL tear on Jan. 1, is practicing more now.
“It’s really exciting for all these guys,” Kiffin said. “A lot of the times as a team, you’re struggling at the end of the year health-wise. We’re in the best shape we’ve been in all year long and now we’ve got to build on that and not just feel good about how we’ve played but play better.”
Kiffin said getting Harris back is “exciting,” noting his presence made for a palpable change in the team’s mood at practice Monday.
“He’s the best receiver in the country coming to add in to a team that’s throwing the ball as well as any team in the country without him,” Kiffin said. “Him being hurt has made other people have big games and step up. It’s made us design different schemes, work different parts of the field with more tight ends and stuff.”
Kiffin said Harris has “really wanted to play” in games against Oklahoma, Arkansas and Georgia, but he would try on Saturdays and not be ready to go.
“He feels different now,” Kiffin said. “He’s really excited to get back in this. It’s great timing.”
Ole Miss wide receiver Jordan Watkins said Monday that he’s not sure how close Harris is to being completely healthy, but said Harris’ presence Monday “is a step in the right direction.”
‘Having him back is going to be big-time for us if he’s able to go on Saturday,” Watkins said. “He adds big-time play-making ability, just like anyone else in the room, from anywhere on the field. Having him out there is going to change the way they play defense.”
Watkins said Ole Miss’ offense has felt as dangerous recently as it has in his time in Oxford.
“I think the proof is in the stats,” Watkins said. “Cayden Lee made big-time plays against Georgia and Juice (Wells) made big-time plays as well. And then having me out there making plays, it’s been awesome. I think it just adds a dynamic out there just knowing that anybody can make plays whether the ball is coming your way or not. Us being able to share the ball everywhere has really opened our offense and made it dynamic.”
Playoff mentality: Both Watkins and Ole Miss safety John Saunders said Monday the Rebels have been treating every game as a playoff game since the loss in Baton Rouge.
Because of that, the heated debate about who’s in and who’s out of the 12-team College Football Playoff doesn’t really affect anyone inside the Manning Center.
“You see it. It’s on social media everywhere, but for us, every game has been a playoff game for us since that second loss at LSU,” Watkins said. “We kind of reference having our back against the wall, clock in our face, running out of time, so it’s win or lose for us. If we lose, we’re obviously not in playoff contention, so knowing that we have to win every game from here on out since LSU for us. I think you can see that as far as how well we’ve been playing on both sides of the ball.”
“Where we are right now, we have to win these last two games,” Saunders said. “It’s great to see everybody’s focused on that because we can’t afford to overlook anybody. We have to make sure to get better at practice every day and then when Saturday comes, execute our jobs and go out there and handle business.”
Monday and Tuesday practice reports are presented by Southern Q-Sauce.
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Gators gaining confidence: Florida enters Saturday’s game with momentum in every aspect of its program. The Gators' offense missed their starting quarterback and top receiver in their blowout loss at Texas two weeks ago. Both players returned to the field against LSU and helped lead Florida to victory.
DJ Lagway completed 13 of 26 passes for 226 yards and one touchdown, and wide receiver Elijah Badger was his security blanket.
The Arizona State transfer led both teams in receiving with six catches for 131 yards and a touchdown. Badger leads Florida in receiving with 30 receptions for 691 receiving yards and three touchdowns.
After an awful performance at Texas, the Florida defense rebounded and had an excellent outing against LSU. Florida’s front-seven dominated in the trenches against one of the best offensive lines in the country.
Junior linebacker Shemar James led the Gators with 11 tackles, two tackles for loss, two sacks, and two pass breakups. Defensive tackle Caleb Banks had three tackles, a sack, a forced fumble, and a fumble recovery.
The LSU offensive line had allowed six sacks going into the game. However, Florida sacked LSU quarterback Garrett Nussmeier seven times.
Florida had a star-studded group of visitors in Gainesville for the LSU game, including Rivals100 quarterback Trammel Jones. The Jacksonville, Fla., product had been committed to Florida State. However, he flipped to Florida on Sunday.
