Cedric Johnson shares key to his success in 2022

Ole Miss DE Cedric Johnson posted a second consecutive successful season on the program’s defensive line last fall. In his eyes, the reason for that beyond his own work is what his coaching staff in Oxford has put into him.

Johnson named Randall Joyner, the Rebel’s defensive line coach, as a key to his development while at SEC Media Days last week. He said his coach’s belief in him has impacted both him and his room in a positive way where they’ve been able to play better for him.

“I feel like the big thing would be Coach Joyner, him staying confident in me, staying positive throughout the whole process,” Johnson said. “Just his energy radiates throughout me and my team. I feel like he’s a big component of that.”

As for Johnson, he posted his second straight year with 32 tackles for Ole Miss. He paired that with four sacks on the season. In ’21 and ’22, he has combined for 64 tackles, 10.5 sacks, and a pass deflection.

When it comes to Joyner himself, he has things working well on that front for the Rebels. Ole Miss finished third in the SEC this past season, his second with the program, with 35 sacks. They finished with 40 the year prior with Sam Williams, now with the Dallas Cowboys, posting 12.5 alone.

Johnson is looking to post a third straight productive season for the Rebels on defense. He expects it to happen to with Joyner in his ear and helping him to achieve what he wants to.

Johnson shares initial impressions of Pete Golding

A new sheriff is running Ole Miss‘ defense and Lane Kiffin is excited to have him. Defensive coordinator Pete Golding crosses state lines and will be hoping to have an instant impact for the 2023 season. Some in Tuscaloosa may have not been happy with Golding but similar results in Oxford will have people buzzing.

As you might expect, a ton of questions surrounding Golding were asked at SEC Media days. Cedric Johnson was able to give his initial impressions of Golding, already having a vision of how Ole Miss’ problems are going to be fixed. Johnson sees the personal side of his defensive coordinator as well, calling him a funny guy,

“I like him a lot,” Johnson said on Thursday at SEC Media Days. “He’s funny. If you didn’t know, he’s a pretty funny guy. I really like him, how particular in detail he is in the defense.

“But he doesn’t stray away from at the end of the day we just playing ball, play the game you love, play hard, play fast, play physical. That will take care of the majority of our problems, take care of the majority of things. That’s the main thing.”

Johnson described the possibility as “fun” for him and all of his teammates.

“My role, I feel like I’m going to be moving a lot more, might be dropping back some, coming off the edge like I usually do,” Johnson said. “It’s going to be a lot more fun for me, just the D-line in general.”