As Ole Miss inches closer to Saturday’s Southeastern Conference showdown with Arkansas, the Rebels (5-3, 2-3 SEC) are figuring out their rotations at several positions after many key players have returned to the field after being sidelined with various injuries.
Depth was a huge question mark heading into this season for Ole Miss, and many have argued that the recent injuries have improved the Rebels’ depth because it required guys who don’t typically see a lot of playing time step into bigger roles. Those guys responded and led Ole Miss to back-to-back wins over then-No. 6 LSU and Idaho.
However, the depth at one position in particular took a big step forward in the depth department, and that was at running back. The Rebels never had the depth issues that many positions dealt with, as senior Jeff Scott leading a deep and talented backfield. With Scott sidelined the past few weeks, sophomores Jaylen Walton and I’Tavius Mathers have shown they are capable of handling the load on the ground, and in the win over Idaho, freshman Mark Dodson began to make a name for himself and could see more carries coming his way.
“I like the way they are going about their business,” head coach Hugh Freeze said. “They’ve taken the chances they have been given and made the most of it. All four have looked good in some things this week. We’re not afraid to use any of the four.”
The Rebels may have to rely on Walton, Mathers and Dodson even more now with Scott potentially missing another week due to a nagging injury.
“With Jeff, we will have to make that call tomorrow,” Freeze said. “It was more than they first diagnosed it as. It ended up being a bone spur on the nerve. Now, they’ve deadened that nerve, and if he is going to play, he should be able to go tomorrow.”
Mathers and Walton have been consistent all year but now could be sharing some time with Dodson.
“I think he has had a lot more excitement and enthusiasm about practice,” running backs coach Derrick Nix said of Dodson. “Not that he hasn’t all year, you can see a little bit more of a bounce in his step. It felt like he has a real shot that he can help us out on Saturdays.”
Nkemdiche Returns
Freshmen defensive lineman Robert Nkemdiche returned to practice this week after missing the past two games with a pulled hamstring. Defensive line coach Chris Kiffin said Nkemdiche appears to be close to returning to old form.
“He looks really good,” Kiffin said. “He looks quick, light on his feet. We just have to make sure he is 100 percent. He’s still feeling it a little bit out here; he’s down 15 pounds. I don’t know if that’s a good thing or bad thing, but he looks really quick.”
Nkemdiche has recorded 15 tackles so far this season, after coming out of high school as the top-ranked player in the country. Kiffin said that after the time Nkemdiche has been out, he has had to make sure that his conditioning was still up to par.
“Conditioning was a big concern,” Kiffin said. “I really pushed him yesterday and today. He was gassed at times. I told him yesterday and today was his opportunity, and now starting tomorrow, it’s really game time, and we have to start winding down. I’ll be watching him in the game closely, but he’s always been a guy where conditioning was not a huge factor.”
Nkemdiche started his career at defensive end, but now, Kiffin plans to move the 6-foot-5, 294-pounder inside to defensive tackle.
“We are keeping (junior) Bryon (Bennett) outside and moving Robert inside,” Kiffin said. “That’s the plan with who we’ve got right now. With (junior defensive end) C.J. (Johnson) being out for the year and Bryon doing a good job out there, maybe that’s Rob’s future. So that’s where we’re at right now.”
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— Matt Sigler
