JJ Pegues on Lane Kiffin's coaching: 'That's the reason why I came back'

JJ Pegues is tied for ninth in the SEC with six rushing touchdowns. He plays defensive tackle.

The offensive ingenuity flexed by head coach Lane Kiffin kept Pegues coming back for more when he decided to return for the 2024 season, his fifth in the collegiate ranks.

But that’s not all — the former Auburn tight end-turned-defensive lineman also loves the way Kiffin runs the Rebels program.

“He’s a great, great guy,” Pegues said of Kiffin Friday on “The Paul Finebaum Show,” “and that’s the reason why I came back, just because I just know he uses his program as an NFL style, and he treats us like we’re grown men, like the NFL.”

Getting to show off his athleticism near the goal line, though, is certainly an added perk.

Although Pegues stands 6-foot-2, 325 pounds, he’s quite nimble. He starred on the basketball court at Oxford High School before launching his college football career, and he caught seven passes for 57 yards as a true freshman tight end at Auburn in 2020, not to mention the 14 rushing yards he added that year.

Pegues transferred to Ole Miss ahead of the 2022 season, developed into a more polished defensive lineman and notched his first career touchdown reception late in the year against Mississippi State.

“Just being able to come back and play with him, he’s an offensive mind,” Pegues said Friday. “And that’s another reason — we play offense and scoring touchdowns like that, it’s just opened up the stuff that I can do, and also other players, and just get people open, like [wide receiver] Jordan Watkins scoring five touchdowns last week.”

Ole Miss is coming off a 63-31 win over Arkansas. Watkins etched his name in the school record books with his five touchdown catches and 254 receiving yards. What’s more, quarterback Jaxson Dart threw for 515 yards and six scores, both of which were also single-game program bests.

In the middle of that offensive explosion, Pegues scored his fourth rushing touchdown in as many games. During that span, he’s also tallied 17 total tackles, including five for loss, and a pair of sacks.

Defense is where he’s made a name for himself. This year, Pegues ranks third on the team with 28 pressures, according to Pro Football Focus, which has him down for 12 run defense tackles, the sixth most of any Ole Miss player.

Pegues raved about second-year Rebels defensive coordinator Pete Golding, who spent five years as Alabama’s DC before joining Kiffin’s staff ahead of the 2023 season.

“It’s been totally different,” Pegues said of working of Golding, who has overseen a unit that’s currently sixth nationally with 13.2 points per game allowed. “Just his mindset in every game. When he calls a play, it’s never the wrong play. And that’s what gives us confidence going into every game, just knowing that he’ll put us in great positions.

“And now we just got to make the plays. So I just feel like bringing him in and just his experience at Alabama and the championship games, the big games like this, that’ll be a great for us.”

The big game Pegues is talking about is a top-20 showdown between his No. 16 Ole Miss squad and No. 3 Georgia. For the Rebels to pull off the upset this weekend, Pegues will have to be involved — maybe even on both sides of the ball.