Sophomore safety Chief Brown prepares to tackle Texas A&M quarterback Johnny Manziel during Saturday’s game.
Photo by Alex Edwards | The Daily Mississippian
With a laundry list of players out due to injuries, Ole Miss had a shorter practice Tuesday afternoon, as they prepare for another big test in No. 6 LSU.
This weekend the Rebels will be going against a more traditional style offense, which is much different than preparing for the spread-type teams they’ve faced the past two weeks.
“I like what we’re doing so far,” Ole Miss head coach Hugh Freeze said. “As always, we probably have too much stuff, and we have to make sure we have enough to give our kids a great chance. We’re playing against a really good football team, but I like what were doing. I just have to watch the film. We’ll probably get rid of some stuff.”
Freeze said he will continue to shorten practices this week to keep the guys that are healthy as fresh as possible.
On Tuesday, sophomore safety Chief Brown and senior quarterback Barry Brunetti participated in practice and are expected to play, according to Freeze. However, the rest of the players he mentioned in his press conference Monday were held out of action.
“They’re going to go,” Freeze said of Brown and Brunetti. “Will they be 100 percent? I don’t know, but they’re going to go. Chief looked good I thought.”
Freeze said senior running back Jeff Scott (thigh bruise) is “very questionable” for Saturday’s contest. Sophomore corner Mike Hilton (hamstring) is “not probable.” Junior defensive ends C.J. Johnson (foot) and Carlos Thompson (stinger) will both miss this week’s game.
Junior linebacker Serderius Bryant, who was carted off the field this past weekend with a concussion, is doing “OK.”
“He is fighting with the people that are running the concussion protocol,” Freeze said. “He’s not ready yet. He sure wants to play.”
Offensively, Ole Miss will be going up against an LSU defense that ranks fourth in the Southeastern Conference in total defense. The Tigers give up 348.9 yards per game, but they are just ninth in rush defense, giving up 152.57 yards per contest on the ground.
It is likely Ole Miss will try to establish the running game early and often Saturday to set themselves up in good chances to make first downs and keep the LSU offense on the sideline.
“It’s kind of like last week,” Freeze said. “We managed the first half without going tempo. Our plan was to try to limit the number of opportunities that they had and get to halftime, and that worked. We were probably a little more patient than we normally would be. It gave us a chance to win it at the end, and we’ll probably manage this one very similar.”
Defensively, LSU presents the biggest threat that they have all season. As always, they have a strong stable of running backs that are led by Jeremy Hill, who is averaging 119.17 rushing yards per game.
However, LSU has also gotten a strong boost from their passing game this season. Quarterback Zach Mettenberger and wideouts Odell Beckham Jr. and Jarvis Landry have been one of the toughest tandems to slow down this season.
“It’s a very physical team that you play,” Freeze said. “They make you add people in the box, so they can throw it to those talented wide receivers they have. And Mettenberger is playing really well. It’s a great challenge.”
Freeze also noted that special teams has taken a big hit due to all of the injuries. However, Ole Miss does add sophomore defensive back Carlos Davis, who excelled on special teams last season, back in the mix. Davis returns to action after serving a NCAA required six-game suspension.
For continuing coverage of Ole Miss football, follow @DavidLCollier and @thedm_sports on Twitter.
