Wide receiver Van Jefferson dodges a tackle from free safety Quincy Mauger. (Photo by: Cameron Brooks)
It seemed like everything that could go right for the Rebels did on Saturday. Ole Miss was especially effective moving the ball through the air, as the Rebel receiving corps dominated the Georgia secondary the whole game.
The Rebels finished with a total of 330 yards and three touchdowns through the air on the game. Quarterback Chad Kelly did a good job spreading the ball to multiple targets, with Evan Engram leading all players with six catches for 95 yards and a touchdown. Sophomore DaMarkus Lodge finished with two grabs for 72 yards and a touchdown, and freshman A.J. Brown caught four passes for 46 yards on the day. Junior Damore’ea Stringfellow and senior Quincy Adeboyejo made their presence felt as well, with the former catching two passes for 43 yards and the latter catching three for 38 yards.
“I couldn’t be more pleased,” Offensive Coordinator Dan Werner said of the receiving group’s play. “The fact that those guys just come in and make plays for us.”
Werner said the talent of the receivers made it especially hard for defensive coordinators to game plan against them, and that their play helped open up the rushing attack as well.
Kelly said the receiving corps’ play was especially important when Georgia went into single coverage against them.
“That’s what its about: you have to win your one-on-ones,” Kelly said. “They wanted to give us a one-high look. We took advantage of it, and those guys made plays.”
Perhaps the highlight of the game came in the second quarter with a touchdown from Kelly to sophomore receiver DaMarkus Lodge. Kelly narrowly avoided pressure, juking a defender then immediately firing a deep pass before being hit. The pass sailed into the hands of Lodge at the tail end of his deep post route for a 55-yard touchdown.
“I told Lodge, ‘Don’t stop running, because I’m going to throw it no matter what.’ But I knew that he could outrun the coverage, so I just had to make a play, juke the one guy,” Kelly said. “I just had to get it out.”
“(Kelly) threw it late, which is something we try not to do, but Lodge went up and made a play for him and they’ve been doing that all year,” Werner said.
Lodge is still a relatively inexperienced receiver, but he has been seeing more playing time in the last few weeks and Kelly saw the dividends on that catch.
“He’s the real deal,” Kelly said. “He’s a good player. He works hard in practice and I trusted him and he made a play for me.”
While he is listed at tight end, Evan Engram is the Rebels’ leading receiver through the first four games. Werner was impressed by Engram’s ability to play like a receiver on the inside but still be able to block like a tight end. Engram had a particularly nice play in the second quarter, out-jumping the free safety and coming down with his second touchdown of the season.
“I always tell Chad, ‘Look if he gets singled up on anybody. He’s big, he’s strong and he can go high point it, throw it out there and let him make a play,” Werner said.
