Ole Miss DL Jared Ivey is one of the main reasons the Rebels defense excels lately
The Ole Miss defense has hit its stride the last three games against Arkansas, Auburn and Vanderbilt which has them first in the FBS with 317 tackles for loss yardage, fourth in sacks per game with 3.8 and eighth in tackles for loss per game with 7.9.
One of the biggest reasons the Rebel defense is humming is the play of senior defensive lineman Jared Ivey.
Ivey is first on the Rebs with eight tackle for losses, first with 5.5 sacks and fourth in total tackles with 31. The sack total is sixth in the conference.
Against Vandy last Saturday, he had a banner night with 2.5 sacks.
Add to that Ole Miss has nine interceptions and some of those were a direct result of pressure on the quarterback by Ivey and you can see his impact.
Dumb question time – how did the game against Vandy feel, Mr. Ivey?
“It felt great to go out there and handle business. We were all over the place, swarming,” Ivey said. “In the last month we have rushed well, we played the run well, we have covered tremendously and we’ve put everything together, including causing turnovers. It’s been really good.”
Ivey credits some of the defensive surge to the offseason and the way things ended last year.
“The returning defensive players and D-Lineman had a bad taste in our mouths and in the offseason we put the work in to get better,” he continued. “(DL) Coach (Randall) Joyner was really detailed in what he wanted us to do and we put in the work to do it. It’s paying off now.
“We are a very confident group right now that works hard to put ourselves in position to make plays. We are not surprised when we make them.”
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Ivey said he isn’t concerned about being 7-1 last year Ole Miss off to a 7-1 start this year.
“We have different guys in the locker room than we did last year and we remember what happened last year,” Ivey stated. “We have a better mentality this year, a better mentality.”
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Ivey sees things a little differently than some in terms of how things get done.
“I think our success is preparation-based rather than momentum-based,” Jared said. “If we are detailed in practice, detailed in our study and our scout team is giving us a helluva look, you put yourself in a better place. Momentum has little to do with it.
“PG (Pete Golding) has a great mindset and keeps us moving forward. He’s the same after a win as he is after a loss. We are always looking for the smallest thing to correct and improve on.”
Ivey has respect for Texas A&M’s offense.
“They have a good offense. They are good on the perimeter, they have a really good running back group,” he added. “It’s typical SEC ball – everyone has players, everyone has dudes. They do too. We just take the mindset that it’s about us and we have to put in the preparation to get ready for a great challenge.
“We put in hours and hours of film work. Every day we do film work. We work hard to prepare and to educate ourselves in what we want to do.”
There will be a lot of action Saturday morning when Texas A&M invades Oxford and you can bet Jared Ivey will be right in the middle of, ready and waiting from having prepared for the moment.
