OXFORD — Scrimmages are a paradox for coaches.
If one side dominates, naturally, the other side struggles, leaving coaches, without the benefit of evaluating competition, to wonder which truth carries more weight.
On Sunday afternoon, following a long, 19-series scrimmage inside Vaught-Hemingway Stadium, Ole Miss’ Lane Kiffin found himself in the middle of that conundrum.
Ole Miss’ offense dominated, especially when the starters were on the field. The defense, predictably, struggled.
“I was impressed with the first offense, running and passing,” Kiffin said. “I was not impressed with the defense, so that always happens when you’re scrimmaging yourself. One side looks good and you walk off saying, ‘OK, are we good on that side or are we bad on the other side?’”
Matt Corral connected with Braylon Sanders on the first play of the scrimmage, a long gain that put the offense close to the end zone. One play later, Corral connected with Dontario Drummond for the touchdown. That set the tone.
“We can make excuses and say first scrimmage, but we still have to tackle,” Kiffin said. “We worked on it (Saturday) and we came out and didn’t tackle very well. It’s discouraging because we have a number of receivers that were banged up so they were playing but not able to be tackled, so a lot of it was just the running backs. The 1s, 2s and 3s missed tackles between the linebackers and the secondary, so, (there is) a lot to learn.”
In the second half of the scrimmage, when tackling was discouraged, the defense stepped up a bit.
“It was a very frustrating first quarter, defensively, especially giving up explosive plays,” Kiffin said.
Asked to assess the first week of camp, Kiffin was still thinking about what he’d just watched.
“I think the concern is what happened today,” Kiffin said. “The offense did really good and the defense (did) not. Again, that’s good and bad. I don’t know. You’re playing yourself. It’s a little frustrating on the defensive side but you never know. This time a year ago, in the fall scrimmages, we couldn’t make a first down with our first offense and with Elijah (Moore). Our defense stopped our first offense all the time. …We were the only team in America last year to average 40 and give up 40. Obviously, we want to fix that.”
Ole Miss defensive end Tariqious Tisdale was in the room during Kiffin’s evaluation. Obviously, he didn’t like what he heard.
“We are just going to keep our head down and keep working,” Tisdale said. “I ain’t worried about what nobody’s got to say. I know the work we’ve put in. I know what we go through each and every day. That’s all I’m worried about — us growing and getting better every day.”
Tisdale said there’s always something to work on to improve, but he said he’s seen development during fall camp.
“We’ve got a lot of young guys coming along and some juco transfers coming along,” Tisdale said. “Come Sept. 6 (the date of Ole Miss’ opener versus Louisville in Atlanta), we’ll be ready.”
Ole Miss running back Snoop Conner was pleased with his side, noting that the offense “came out and we balled.”
“If we go out and do what we’ve got to do, do the little things right, we can be one of the best in the nation,” Conner said. “It’s hard to stop that offense. (Jeff) Lebby, he knows what he’s doing. Kiffin is an offensive mind. It can be pretty special.”
Kiffin also had big praise for Corral, who appeared to have a phenomenal scrimmage. Teammates have praised Corral’s development this summer, noting his leadership and growth as a quarterback. Kiffin agreed with that assessment.
“He’s very mature and really helping others,” Kiffin said. “On and off the field, you can see it. I’m proud of his development in both areas. He has a chance to be really special and go make a lot of money if he plays like he can consistently.”
Notes and Observations:
— The kicking game was perfect Sunday, as there were no missed field goals or PATs. Kiffin said it’s a “competitive race,” adding it’s a “good problem to have.”
— Sanders is clearly emerging as Corral’s favorite target. He had a huge day Sunday. The rest of the receiving corps is a work in progress.
“Dannis (Jackson) had a couple of opportunities today,” Kiffin said. “He’s done some really good things. There were two plays there I wish he would’ve made but he’s had a good camp. The rest of it just seems to be a mix of a lot of guys hurt and some guys who have done some good things but are inconsistent.”
— Kiffin said both backup quarterbacks struggled at times Sunday because of what’s around them.
“It’s a lot harder to play with the 3s than it is to throw the ball to No. 13 (Sanders), so part of it is a product of that, but both guys have done good things and we need them to play really well,” Kiffin said.
Kinkead Dent did have a long touchdown pass to Kentrell Bullock, hitting the tailback in stride on what appeared to be a wheel route out of the backfield.
— There were a plethora of players wearing black shirts, signifying they couldn’t be tackled, Sunday. There were some notable absences as well. Wide receivers Bralon Brown and John Rhys Plumlee did not play. Neither did center Orlando Umana, who left Saturday’s practice with an apparent upper-body injury. Kiffin does not go into details on injuries, but he said there are still no long-term injuries on the Rebels’ roster.
“That is still luckily the case,” Kiffin said.
— Tight end Damarcus Thomas had one of the big blocks of the day, blowing up Elijah Sabbatini to spring Conner on a long run up the left sideline. Corral and Sanders connected on a long touchdown on the very next play.
— Demarko Williams slammed his helmet to the ground in frustration after suffering an apparent injury. He left the field with a trainer but did eventually return, though he was held out of action.
— Walk-on running back Matt Jones had some highlights running with the third-team offense, including an impressive touchdown run. The third-team offensive line was a nice glimpse of the future, as the unit of Cedrick Nicely, Tobias Braun, Peyton Cox, Hamilton Hall and Micah Pettus opened some big holes.
— Freshman tight end Hudson Wolfe was in a black jersey but he had several catches late Sunday. Inside the program, hopes are very high for Wolfe, especially long-term. Meanwhile, there is short-term optimism that Chase Rogers can be more than adequate at tight end, especially as a blocker, something the Rebels were lacking last season.
— Starting lineups Sunday: On offense, it was Jonathan Mingo, Drummond, Nick Broeker, Eli Acker, Ben Brown, Caleb Warren, Jeremy James, Rogers, Sanders, Corral and Jerrion Ealy. On defense, it was Sam Williams, Quentin Bivens, Tisdale, MoMo Sanogo, Lakia Henry, Tylan Knight, Deane Leonard, Jaylon Jones, A.J. Finley, Otis Reese and Keidron Smith.
