Dave Wommack speaks during media days last season. File Photo
It’s no secret that the Ole Miss defense is playing some of its best football we’ve seen in the past ten years.
Defensive coordinator Dave Wommack has led his defense to only giving up 10.3 points per game, good for third in the country, and the secondary leads the country in passes defended.
Wommack has a lethal offense to deal with Saturday with Memphis. The Tiger offense is averaging 44.7 points per game, which is 13th in the country, and averages over 200 yards per game in both passing and rushing.
Wommack believes Memphis redshirt sophomore quarterback Paxton Lynch is the motor that drives the offense.
“It starts with the quarterback. You look at last years and this year’s film, he’s more of a field general and is very accurate in his passing game,” Wommack said. “They have good running backs and receivers, too. I think they do a really nice job with their schemes and coaching it. They’ve played well.”
With the success of the defense in the first three games, the comfort level seems to be at an all-time high. Wommack has instilled a great amount of trust in his players and knows his kids will be in the right spot and make certain plays to win ball games.
“I said from the beginning that these guys are different and I think their mentality is different in that they want to do well,” Wommack said. “They’ve worked extremely hard and they’re not into letting things slip. I think they’re hungry to play this week. I’m proud of where we’re at right now.”
The run defense is the one spot where the defense has shown inconsistency and given up big spurts of runs throughout games. During the bye week, the round defense was an area Wommack focused on as an area for improvement.
“It was probably my fault,” Wommack said. “I was trying to get the ends up the field too much. We weren’t squeezing on some of the things we needed to squeeze on. It was the scheme and not the players. I think we got those things answered. We’ll see.”
Wommack said some of the younger players who arrived in the spring, including junior linebacker transfer Christian Russell, freshman linebacker DeMarquis Gates and freshman defensive back Kendarius Webster, have drastically improved.
Wommack also mentioned that leaders, including senior safety Cody Prewitt and junior defensive end CJ Johnson, have shown determination and praised them for putting extra effort to get better.
Wommack has developed a mentality on his defense to not let anything slide and always execute your assignment properly. Having more depth and experience with this year’s team has helped Wommack develop one of the best defensive groups in the Southeastern Conference.
“You have to challenge yourself to get better and be disciplined to do the little things on the field,” Wommack said. “It relates to the classroom also; who’s missing class, and who doesn’t come. Do the little things and you’ll get better each and every day.”
