OXFORD | Jacob Adams gets a second chance at his first day of practice on Friday.

The Rebels open the team portion of preseason preparation on Friday at Swayze Field, giving Adams a chance to begin his acclimation to the Division I level.

The highly thought of junior college transfer tore multiple ligaments in his foot 15 minutes into the first practice of the ball back in September. He didn’t get back to full speed until Christmas break, so it’s a bit of a crash course in the transition with the season opening on February 16.

“I was coming in on a ground ball and threw it,” Adams said. “When I landed on my step coming down I could hear it crack and felt it pop. I knew something was up. I hobbled off the field and that was that.”

Adams can play any infield position and was expected to compete with the trio of freshmen — Tyler Keenan, Tim Elko and Anthony Servideo — for time at second base or third base. That’s still the case, but the next few weeks are critical for him to get repetitions during intrasquads.

The Crowder Community College standout walked 52 times and scored 92 runs for the 54-`14 Roughriders last season. He hit .354 and stole 14 bases in 247 at-bats.

“The important thing for him is to see live pitching and see velocity and get back to the speed of the game,” Ole Miss hitting coach Mike Clement said. “He played at an exceptional junior college. He played in Grand Junction at the JUCO World Series, but now he’s in the best league in amateur baseball in the world.

“He is doubling up his reps and he does a good job of keeping his mouth shut and getting to work. These weeks are important because he hasn’t seen a live arm in so long.”

While recovering from the foot injury, Adams continued upper body strength training but couldn’t do much with his lower body. He kept his arm in shape by throwing from his knees, and side-to-side movement was a bigger issue than forward and backwards.

“There have been a couple small things that I’m rusty with as I get back in to it,” Adams said. “Double plays and some hitting things during batting practice aren’t all the way back yet. I’m excited for regular practice and to prove myself in game situations.”

Adams committed to Arkansas following his sophomore season of high school but enrolled at Crowder after getting caught in a scholarship availability situation with the Razorbacks.

He now has 495 collegiate at-bats and should push for a role as he gets back to form.

“We needed depth in middle infield,” Clement said. “His junior college coach told us he’s a guy, and he brings what we need. He had twice as many walks as strikeouts, and while the stats aren’t a huge deal, he recognizes the strike zone and is a solid defender in the middle. He also has a lot of college at-bats under his belt with success.”