The goal for any defense is to be better than the year before and improve so that they may play at their full potential. After the Ole Miss defense ranked first in the nation in scoring defense last season, the goal will be to return to that high level of play despite the loss of some big seniors and two All-Americans in the secondary.
While the secondary certainly takes a big hit with the loss of Senquez Golson and Cody Prewitt, defensive coordinator Dave Wommack said he thinks this year’s group is the deepest he’s had while at Ole Miss and still has a lot of potential at cornerback and safety.
“I think they’re coming along. We just have to keep developing,” Wommack said of the safety group. “I’m liking what C.J. Hampton is doing. He’s a young guy who’s doing a great job for us. A.J. and C.J. (Moore), both of them are doing a nice job, so I’ve been impressed with them. I think we can play more people back there than we have in the past three years.”
The cornerback position could be the most talented and deepest of them all with the addition of Tee Shepard and Tony Bridges at corner and safety, respectively. Wommack seemed excited when addressing the subject of the group of corners.
“We have five guys that we’re playing at corner, rotating in there a lot,” Wommack said. “I think Tony Bridges has made huge strides in learning the defense. I think Tee (Sheppard) has come along farther than I thought he would in the spring, and he’s stayed healthy and competed.”
Senior free safety Trae Elston said he felt good about the makeup of the secondary and makeup of the defense as a whole.
“We’re looking pretty fast on defense, and the offense is starting to pick it up a little bit,” Elston said.
Many players are vying for time at linebacker, including senior C.J. Johnson, whom Wommack said has had an excellent offseason.
“We’re playing him at both defensive end and linebacker, and he’s doing a great job at both of them,” Wommack said. “He’s been doing a great job at leading the team, so I’m proud of him.”
Earlier in the offseason, it appeared the depth at linebacker could be a big issue for the Rebels, but Wommack said, thanks to the emergence of players like sophomore Ray Ray Smith, junior Temario Strong, sophomore Demarquis Gates and junior Terry Caldwell and the consistency and improvement of players like sophomore Tayler Polk and senior Christian Russell, it is not a cause for concern.
“I really have a difficult situation because I have so many guys who are pretty good, and I need to really limit some of the reps so four or five of them get really good,” Wommack said. “It’s very competitive and I think that’s helped them get better out there, it’s a very athletic group of guys.”
One place the defense can improve on is the run support, as power-running teams like Arkansas and LSU gave the defense some trouble last year. The key to improving the team’s run defense starts up front with the defensive line, which Wommack has high hopes for this season.
“I think that we improved our self from last year because of Breeland (Speaks) and D.J. (Jones),” Wommack said. “I think we’re stronger across the board there, and it’s a good defensive line.”
Wommack also said the line has the depth to run different looks for the different situations they will face, such as a bigger and more physical group with defensive tackle Robert Nkemdiche sliding to defensive end opposite Fadol Brown. Another look is a pass rush-oriented look with sophomore Marquis Haynes and C.J. Johnson at the defensive end spots.
“We’re gonna play eight to ten guys in there, and that will be very good for us,” Wommack said.
Junior defensive end Fadol Brown also felt good about the depth on the defensive line and saw the important role the line could have this season.
“We look at the defense as everything starts up front, no matter how you look at it,” Brown said. “Every Saturday we have to come with it.”
