Ole Miss head coach Hugh Freeze addressed the injury status of junior defensive tackle Robert Nkemdiche and junior defensive back Tony Conner on Wednesday.
Nkemdiche has been cleared to play by the medical staff and the status of Conner is still day-to-day as he is recovering from surgery on his torn meniscus.
“Robert (Nkemdiche) is ready to go. He just has to be symptom-free by game time,” Freeze said. “The deal with Tony (Conner) is just how is he progressing. He got 12 snaps yesterday. I don’t know how many today. We’ll see how goes the rest of the week.”
Freeze told the media that they hope to have an answer on Conner by practice today so they can dress him for the game Saturday with the 70 active players allowed for the game.
“It will be either before or after practice where we’ll know his status,” Freeze said on Conner. “It’ll probably be before practice.”
Freeze talked about how pleased he has been with senior defensive back Mike Hilton moving to husky to replace Conner and sophomore defensive C.J. Hampton moving to free safety. Freeze said it stabilized the back end of the secondary.
“Mike (Hilton) has been the best replacement we could find for Tony (Conner) for sure,” Freeze said. “We’ve had one good game, so I’m a bit hesitant to jump the gun. Hopefully, we can build off of that success.”
Freeze seemed upbeat heading into the team meeting room Wednesday as he was pleased with the team at practice so far this week. It’s been good week for the football team, as Freeze said the team seemed focused and into preparation.
“It’s been a very good week. The guys seemed very prepared,” Freeze said. “We didn’t get to go outside because we’ve been blessed with great weather, but I’ve been very pleased.”
The rainy weather the last couple of days forced the team to practice at the indoor practice facility in preparation for Auburn Saturday morning. Because of the weather, Freeze had the offense go through wet ball drills to handle the possibility of in climate weather this Saturday. The drills didn’t take long as the offense only went through a couple of drills in practice Wednesday.
Ole Miss’ Saturday opponent, Auburn, has been known as an offensive juggernaut ever since head coach Gus Malzahn arrived on the plains in 2013. Over the past two season with former dual-threat quarterback Nick Marshall, the offense has been a force on the ground.
With freshman quarterback Sean White at the helm this season, the offense features a more traditional game with more pocket passing and an emphasis on running the ball.
Freeze gave praise to the success of the Auburn running game, and it’s something that the team has honed in on, while also talking about the passing game.
“Typically, they’re one of the best rushing teams you’ll face over the season, and they’ve certainly gotten back to that identity,” Freeze said. “Their quarterback has been extremely accurate. He’s thrown it really well, taken care of the football and puts it in the right spot. They’re very balanced.”
Auburn might get their star defensive end Carl Lawson back this week after recovering from a hip injury. Freeze took note of the ability of Lawson and said he’s a game changer for the Auburn defense.
“There’s no question he’s a phenomenal player,” Freeze said of Lawson. “He’s been a force ever since he was a freshman, and if he plays, we’ll have a challenge.”
