Ole Miss returned to the practice fields Tuesday afternoon for the first time since the Rebels (4-3, 2-3 Southeastern Conference) knocked off then-No.6 LSU 27-24 this past weekend.

Head coach Hugh Freeze was pleased with his team’s energy Tuesday, but said he’s going to be a little picky about small things in hopes to avoid a flat performance from his squad in Saturday’s game against Idaho.

“I’m probably wound a little tighter this week than I was last week,” Freeze said. “I thought there was a lot of little things that I didn’t like. We weren’t as sharp as I would like for us to be.”

For the Rebel offense, some of the struggles could be attested to the fact that senior center Evan Swindall missed practice because of pink eye. However, Freeze and the rest of the staff want to make sure their guys aren’t taking their opponent lightly.

“Our whole team meeting was about elevating our level of focus,” Freeze said. “Obviously, any team can beat you.

“It’s our jobs as coaches to get them ready to perform regardless of their emotion state. That’s our task.”

Change at punt return

If senior running back Jeff Scott can’t play this weekend against Idaho, Freeze said either senior wide receivers Jordan Holder or Ja-Mes Logan will get the nod to return punts against the Vandals.

This past weekend, senior wideout Korvic Neat handled those duties with Scott out with a deep thigh bruise, but Neat fumbled a critical punt that put LSU right back into the game.

Sophomore safety Trae Elston is another guy that could be back there, as he was listed as the backup punt returner last week and was fielding punts at practice Tuesday. However, Holder and Logan are the top two candidates if Scott can’t go this Saturday.

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