To put it bluntly, this season hasn’t gone the way it was expected for the Rebels. They came into the season ranked at No. 11 in the AP Top 25 poll and have now slipped out of it completely after losing back-to-back games to Arkansas and LSU, with the Tigers’ running back Leonard Fournette rushing for 284 yards and three touchdowns against the Rebel defense.
The schedule doesn’t get easier this week, as Auburn is ranked No. 15 and looks to have a formidable rushing offense this season. With that in mind, several Rebel players decided to take matters into their own hands and hold a players-only meeting.
“Today we had a great team meeting. We were able to be transparent with each other. It was just us guys in here just talking it out, and I think it helped us a lot,” tight end Evan Engram said. “We’re not out; we’re not down. No sense of giving up. Just a little crushed. We didn’t expect this, so just as competitors, it’s a little upsetting, but I couldn’t be more pleased with how the team was today, from workouts to meetings to practice. A little bit before today we were a little down, but today we were way up and a lot better.”
“Coach Freeze, he set the tone Sunday, came in, told us the truth, got us right, and today it was just us captains, just myself, Chad and Marquis, just had an open room, just talking it out and getting each other right and holding each other accountable,” Engram said. “Just we’re all in this together, and I think we have a good outlook moving forward, and we’re ready to attack the rest of the season.”
Freeze said he didn’t know exactly what was said during the meeting but that he trusted the players who ran the meeting.
“I’m fine with that, as long as the leadership that’s leading is representative of our core values and what we’re trying to get accomplished,” Freeze said.
Engram said that a multitude of players voiced their opinions during the meeting.
“We have guys speaking up from walk-ons to guys that play most of the game,” Engram said. “That’s the beautiful part of this team: we all hold each other accountable, no matter what our role is. We’ve had player meetings in years before; today was best one. Just seeing guys’ responses, just hearing from other guys that don’t usually speak up a lot got a chance to speak up today, and I think that was huge for our team.”
With their two recent losses, the Rebels need to get back on track, as the Auburn game will have big implications on what will happen to Ole Miss in postseason play. Engram said the main message in the meeting was that with as much adversity they had seen this season, they would see more and that the team wouldn’t lie down for it.
“We respect the coaches; they do so much for us, but we’re the ones out on the field together, and we’re the ones doing sprints, and we’re the ones laying our bodies out there on the line,” Engram said. “If we’re not doing it for anybody else, this team and each other that we go through hell and back for is what we’re doing it for.”
