Coach Hugh Freeze speaks at Monday’s presser about next weeks game against Florida State. “We have a tremendous task. It is a difficult task, but we relish this opportunity,” Freeze said. (Photo by Ariel Cobbert)
Hugh Freeze and his team are ready for a change of scenery. His team is tired of hitting one another.
“By the time the third week of camp rolls around, everybody is itching to do something different than you’ve been doing every day for a while, so I think everybody is ready for the opportunity in front of us and ready for it to get here,” Freeze said.
The Rebels will get that chance on Monday night against the No. 4 Florida State Seminoles in a game that will have the full attention of the college football world.
Ole Miss received some good news defensively as senior defensive end Fadol Brown practiced for the second consecutive day. Brown had been hampered by a foot injury that required surgery last December and has been held out of fall camp before returning on Tuesday.
“We’ll just keep monitoring it day by day,” Freeze said. “He finished practice and didn’t seem to be in a large amount of pain or anything. I was watching him move around and haven’t talked talk to him afterwards. I think he’ll give it a go.”
Freeze said he thinks Brown could play “20-30 good snaps” against the Seminoles.
Defensive Line Coach Chris Kiffin said he’s gotten to the point where he feels like he is two deep at every line position, but getting there without Brown being able to practice was a little more difficult.
“Any time you lose a starter for an extended period of time, you’ve got to move some pieces around and really find out what you have,” Kiffin said. “All of a sudden second stringer is now a third stringer and a second stringer is now a first first stringer. It was a unique circumstance to say the least.”
The Florida State offensive line is an experienced group that will pose a tough task for a defensive line that is considered the strength of the Ole Miss defense.
“Their offensive line coach has been doing it for a long time and they know what they’re doing in the run game and protection-wise. Obviously, they’re blocking for a special back that makes it easier, but they’re a talent group.”
Stopping Heisman candidate Dalvin Cook won’t be easy, but for the Rebels it’s about carrying out a game plan.
“At the end of the day, it’s going to be about execution,” Kiffin said. “Our defensive line versus their offensive line in the run game and when they want to set back and try to air it out with a young quarterback we’ll be looking for our opportunities to show our skill set.”
In the event that Brown ends up unable to play on Monday night, Breeland Speaks could see some action at defensive end.
“Breeland, as most of our tackles are, is pretty athletic. He’s a guy that, if we need to get big against the run, we could stick him out there,” Kiffin said.
He added that is a worst case scenario plan and that he anticipates Brown to play in some capacity. John Youngblood is listed as the backup on the depth chart, and Kiffin was confident that the senior could hold his own.
It will be hard for everyone on the field to play a lot of snaps, but particularly for Brown as he was unable to practice for most of fall camp. Freeze said Brown has been working out in the pool and other things and that his conditioning is not of concern.
The Rebels and Seminoles square off on Monday night at 7 p.m.
