Coach Hugh Freeze directs players in Tuesday’s practice. (PHOTO BY: ARIEL COBBERT)
Ole Miss’ 76-3 win over the UT-Martin was the largest victory for the Rebels since 1935. Head coach Hugh Freeze was pleased with his team’s performance during his weekly press conference Monday, although he did still see things the Rebels needed to improve moving forward.
“We did some things well. I think anytime we rush for 200 yards, our record is pretty good in our tenure here,” Freeze said. “(Our) total defense was less than 300 yards, which is usually pretty good.”
“We did have a defensive touchdown, which is big. We are very good on third down defense, and just so-so on offense. I thought we were excellent on third down in the red zone offensively; we were 5-for-5 there. We had explosive plays, which is something I think is very important,” Freeze said. “When you talk about scoring points you have to have some explosive plays. We had nine on offense, but we gave up two. We need to eliminate those defensively.”
One of the big surprises in Saturday’s game was star left tackle Laremy Tunsil being held out of the game due to a pending NCAA investigation. Freeze didn’t have much information to give on the situation Monday, but did say that it’s unclear when Tunsil will return to play.
“I know everyone is surprised, but the way these things go for me is that I am not really included in a lot of the behind-the-scene things that are going on,” Freeze said. “That can be quite frustrating and make you anxious at times. I am confident that our people and whatever process is going on, that they are on top of it.”
Freeze said that they will determine how to set up the offensive line without Tunsil this week, but that sophomore guard Rod Taylor could return from a shoulder injury and help fill in for Tunsil, along with senior right tackle Fahn Cooper and sophomore tackle Christian Morris.
“We do expect Rod (Taylor) to practice tomorrow, so that will give us a little more flexibility. He will probably get some reps at left tackle. We will see how he does there. He’s athletic enough to play that position,” Freeze said. “Christian (Morris) had some good things too that he did. We’ll try to ride some there and see how that goes, but it’s way too early for me to say how that is going to juggle around.”
With the first game behind them, Freeze is already looking ahead to next Saturday’s matchup against Fresno State. Freeze was impressed with the Bulldog’s head coach Tim DeRuyter.
“He does a really nice job coaching the defense. They are a 3-3 multiple defense that gives you a lot of problems,” Freeze said. “They can come from a lot of different areas. They have five returning starters on both sides.”
“Offensively they spread you out all over the field with tempo, which will be a great challenge for us to be prepared for that,” Freeze continued. “It will be a better test for us this Saturday to judge exactly where we are. I am glad we have them at home.”
