Notes: Robinson pleased with debut, ready to become bigger factor

OXFORD -- Tavius Robinson is still adjusting to the speed of the game in the Southeastern Conference, but he's not worried.

After all, things have been coming fast at the new Ole Miss defensive end for a while now.

Robinson, a 6-foot-7, 245-pounder, made his Ole Miss debut last Saturday in the Rebels' 51-35 loss to Florida. He recorded three tackles and was one of the few Rebels to put pressure on Gators quarterback Kyle Trask.

Just a few months ago, Robinson was in his native Canada, preparing for his junior season at Guelph (Ontario) Collegiate Vocational Institute. When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, Canadian football was canceled. Robinson quickly put together a highlight tape and disseminated it on Twitter.

Things happened quickly.

"From there, I got this opportunity," Drummond said. "I definitely followed the big teams in the SEC and all the conferences. Once the offers started coming, it was crazy. It was like, 'Is this real?'"

There were multiple offers, but Robinson chose Ole Miss.

"The coaches were very welcoming from the start," Robinson said. "They explained how it was here and all that stuff and they did all the proper stuff to make sure I'd be able to leave my school and come here from the start. When I get here, all the guys were so welcoming. They're overall good guys and made the transition better."

It's been a culture change, obviously, from Ontario to Oxford, but Robinson is adjusting.

"It's different, for sure," Robinson said. "The weather is a lot hotter here. That was a shock my first couple of days here, but it's been good though, for sure."

On the field, the adjustment is all about pace.

"I definitely think it's a lot faster pace here," Robinson said. "You have to make your reads and stuff quicker and it's more physical for sure. I think I can compete at this level and I try to get better every day."

Ole Miss struggled against Florida, failing to make Trask uncomfortable in the pocket. He made the Rebels pay. Kentucky's Terry Wilson will likely try to do the same Saturday when Ole Miss faces the Wildcats (3 p.m. CDT, SEC Network) in Lexington.

"We just have to keep working every day at practice and get better," Robinson said. "We have to focus on our rushes, finish our pass rushes. We're going to keep working at that.

"Definitely being more physical, coming off the ball and striking right away and then talking about speed, making sure I have my keys down. I have to make reads quick or I won't be in the right position. That's been one of the biggest adjustments that I'm working on."

There's no doubt, however. Certainly not for Robinson, who has been adjusting to life on the fly for more than half a year now.

"It's crazy," Robinson said. "Last year at this time, I was watching games on TV. I always look at the games and wonder if I could compete at this level. Now that I'm here, it's cool to know I can compete."

Dontario Drummond's face lit up Tuesday when he was asked about his passing performance Saturday against Florida. Drummond was 1-for-1 for 45 yards throwing versus the Gators, executing a trick play that caught Florida off guard.

"I didn't know we were going to really run the trick play in the game," Drummond said. "We did it once at practice, but when he came up and told me we were going to run it, I was kind of excited because everybody was going to get to see me throw the ball."

Of course, Drummond is in Oxford to catch footballs, not throw them. On Saturday, he caught two passes for 60 yards, both resulting in touchdowns. His teammate, Elijah Moore, caught 10 passes for 227 yards. So, going forward, Drummond suspects defenses will key on Moore, leaving it up to he and other wide receivers to either punish those defenses or justify their decisions.

"I think it will open up everybody," Drummond said. "Based off last year, the ball was forced to Elijah all the time. Now, since we spread the ball all the way around, I think it's going open it up for a lot of us.

"I think we are all ready. We all push each other hard at practice every day and we compete every day. I think everyone, as a receiver group, is ready to show what we've got."

Against Florida, Kenny Yeboah had five catches for 91 yards. Jerrion Ealy had three receptions for 44 yards. Four receivers had one catch each.

A year ago, defenses keyed on Moore and the Rebels didn't make them pay. A year later, Drummond thinks a different outcome is forthcoming.

"Some defenses tried to bracket him," Drummond said. "They tried to play two-over-one. That kind of opened up everybody else.

It kind of was (frustrating), but we all stuck through it, played our roles and did what we had to do. ...I think it opens us up. We'll get a lot more. It opens us up a lot."