After putting together a solid season last year in which wide receiver Vince Sanders established himself as one of Ole Miss’ top and most consistent receiving threats, Sanders, a junior, was expected to play an even bigger role this year. Unfortunately for the Rebels, Sanders was sidelined for the first three games of the season after breaking his collarbone in fall practice, but he has made a solid impact since returning against Alabama.
“I feel pretty good,” Sanders said. “I don’t think I’m 100 percent yet, but it’s where I need to be.”
The injury may have caused a slow start to his season, but Sanders seems to be feeling more comfortable, as he had a big game this past weekend against Texas A&M that saw him catch three balls for 90 yards and a touchdown.
“Against Texas A&M, I was still thinking about that loss we had last year, so I really wanted to beat them, also because they’re a top-10 team,” Sanders said. “They came here, and they felt like they were gonna run all over us. We came out to play, so I really wanted the win. But we didn’t get it, so we just have to hope for something against LSU.”
Sanders made his return against No. 1 Alabama, but it wasn’t until two weeks later that Sanders made a sizable impact again.
“Against Alabama, that was my first time being back, so it took me a while to get back in the groove,” he said. “Against Auburn, I was ready to make plays.”
In the Alabama game, Sanders didn’t record a catch, and against Auburn, Sanders only had two catches for 22 yards. However, Texas A&M was a different story, as one of Sanders’ three catches on the day was a 70-yard touchdown from junior quarterback Bo Wallace.
“It felt pretty good. That was actually my first touchdown where I caught the ball then had to run,” Sanders said. “I had stopped, hoping that he would see me, and he got it to me.“
The electrifying touchdown wasn’t enough to get Ole Miss a win against the Aggies, and it marked the third consecutive loss for the Rebels. Now, Sanders knows all they can do is move forward to LSU.
“They’re tough losses,” Sanders said. “After the game, we’re probably down, but the next day we gotta get up. We understand there’s a whole season, and we still got a chance to do some great things, so hopefully, everyone has their head up and is ready to go back to work.”
Lately, the Ole Miss offense has been inconsistent because of its own mistakes, including dropped passes. Sanders knows if the Rebels expect to knock off LSU this weekend, they can’t afford to have any dropped balls from the receiving corps.
“They’re always a good team. They had a good game against Florida, but we’re gonna go out and do what we do,” Sanders said. “I’m not really too concerned about them, we gotta be concerned about ourselves and making plays.”
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