OXFORD | Lakia Henry was paired with MoMo Sanogo during his unofficial visit and his official visit to Ole Miss during the recruiting process.

The two became friends before Henry signed with the Rebels over Arkansas and Texas, giving Ole Miss a potential impact inside linebacker who was a four-star prospect and the No. 6 junior college player nationally, per Rivals.com.

Now, with the season two weeks away, Henry has picked things up quickly and is trying to play alongside Sanogo as a starter when the Rebels travel to Memphis August 31 at 11 a.m. Sanogo has helped Henry mentally, and they’ve spent most of this week as the starters at that position during the portions of practice media are allowed to view.

“MoMo has been a big help on the field,” Henry said. “MoMo does most of (the checks and calls) because he knows more than I do right now. But once I get to pace with him I feel like we’ll be in unison and giving each other calls and such. I’ve known MoMo for a while and he’s a really cool dude and a good dude and me and him have that connection on and off the field. It translates pretty well.”

Henry, who was committed to Tennessee from May 2018 to January 2019, didn’t have the benefit of spring practice, so it’s been a quick transition since the summer. He feels proficient in run assignments and is progressing well in pass coverage.

Willie Hibbler started camp ahead of Henry, but after being slowed for a few days this past week with an injury, Henry has spent the majority of time at the No. 1 spot.

“I can turn it loose now,” Henry said. “The more I know, the faster I play and the harder I hit so the more I learn the defense the better I’ll get. The challenge was to get in shape and get ready to play and learn the defense. I’m getting at pace now with everybody else. Once we put the pads on it started clicking.

"The coverage stuff and knowing what to do and which way to drop is the big thing. That was the hardest thing coming into it, but I’m good now. I need to keep working at it to get better, but it’s really picked up.”

Ole Miss will conduct its final official scrimmage on Saturday, going live in a practice closed to media and the public.

With only one more Saturday between now and the first kickoff, defensive coordinator Mike MacIntyre is testing some aspects of his installation during the scrimmage.

"We have a few more things in for different down and distances, third and long and two-minutes," MacIntyre said. "Those type of situations, so I’m looking to run those packages more smoothy. We’ve been over them a lot more now. The first scrimmage you barely touched it and didn’t do it as much. Now we’ll do a little more of that. We should be better at it."

Extra Points: The first team offensive line during the media portion of practice was Michael Howard (LT), Royce Newman (LG), Eli Johnson (C), Ben Brown (RG) and Bryce Mathews (RT)... The second unit was Nick Broeker (LT), Jalen Cunningham (LG), Carter Colquitt (C), Chandler Tuitt (RG), Jeremy James (RT)... James' name keeps popping up when talking about newcomers who have impressed... Armani Linton spent time with the first team at strong safety on Friday with Jon Haynes unavailable with an injury.