FILE PHOTO: CADY HERRING Mike Hilton celebrates just after winning against Alabama Saturday.
The Rebels had their first practice of the week on Tuesday to prepare for their upcoming game against 14th ranked Texas A&M. One of the big questions for the game is how the team will respond after pulling off an emotional upset of Alabama the week before.
“That was a big game for us to come out and put up a victory against a team like Alabama with a great dynasty like they have,” junior guard Justin Bell said. “Mentally it gives you a lot of confidence, but the trick to that is not letting it go to your head, staying focused and getting back to work.”
Junior cornerback Mike Hilton talked about what he had seen of Texas A&M’s style of offense and the players they use to execute it.
“They’re just throwing the ball around. They have playmakers on the outside. They have a good quarterback in Kenny Hill, he’s got a strong arm,” Hilton said. “Of course they’ve got their big receivers, but this year they have more speed than they usually have.”
Hilton spoke further about Hill and how he compared to the Aggies’ previous quarterback Kenny Hill.
“We knew what (Johnny) Manziel can do and Kenny (Hill) can do the same things, but he likes to really just drop back and pass,” Hilton said. “So that kind of gives us an advantage to run our defense and know what we have to do.”
Hilton will be playing against Hill from a different position than he played Manziel however, as he will see time at safety in lieu of junior Trae Elston, who is suspended for the first half. Hilton worked with the Rebels’ defensive coordinator to learn the position.
“I spent the whole practice there, watched film with Coach Wommack,” Hilton said. “He went through the whole gameplan with me, made sure I got it down.”
Hilton was excited to make the switch, something he’s done multiple times in his career at Ole Miss.
“Another movement, I think it’s just the trust that the coaches have in me, knowing that they can put me anywhere and I can get the job done for them,” Hilton said. “I actually like the to move to be honest.”
Hilton said freshman Kendarius Webster will see time at corner with him switching to safety. He was confident in Webster’s ability to fill the role.
“Over these past couple of games we’ve given him a lot of trust,” Hilton said. “We know what he can do and what he’s capable of, I know he’ll get the job done too.”
The team has also had to prepare for playing at Texas A&M’s stadium, Kyle Field, which is famed for having extremely loud fans.
“It’s going to be loud, we’re preparing for that with practice. We have been changing our snap count up a little bit to help us out,” Bell said. “It’s more of a mental game when it comes to crowd noise. We just have to be focused and listen to our quarterback and listen to our center.”
Hilton was ready for the challenge.
“From what I’ve heard, they say it’s the loudest in the nation. I think it’s time for a road test,” Hilton said. “It’s time to see what we really can do.”
