Ole Miss linebacker Ladarius Tennison is the James Bond of the Rebels
Whenever Ole Miss football faces a quarterback who can run the football, don’t be surprised to see linebacker Ladarius Tennison doing his best James Bond impression – acting as a “spy” with his biggest purpose to keep that QB contained and not let him break free for any big gainers via his feet.
He and freshman LB Suntarine Perkins did a good job on Alabama’s Jalen Milroe contributing heavily in holding him to 28 yards on 16 carries.
They will have another tall task in trying to help contain LSU Quarterback Jayden Daniels this Saturday in The Vaught at 5 p.m. when Ole Miss square off with the Tigers.
Daniels, who is completing 72 percent of his passes on the season so far, is also dangerous with his feet, running for 193 yards and a 4.3 yards per rush rate and two touchdowns.
While both are potent rushers of the football, Tennison feels Daniels presents a different kind of challenge.
Whereas Milroe is a physical runner, Daniels is not.
“Daniels is more electrifying, shiftier,” said Ladarius, who was moved from safety last season to linebacker this season due to Ole Miss defensive coordinator Pete Golding wanting more speed on the field at all positions. “This week it will be very important to be able to contain him and not let him get going.
“Last year, he was slippery. He throws well and he runs it well.”
Spying won’t be his only duty, but certainly an important one.
“I will also have coverage duties and be able to fit the run too,” Tennison noted. “I just have to do my job well and take care of my business.”
When Ladarius was switched to linebacker, it looked as if he would take over one of the starting slots but then he injured his ankle and was out of preseason practice for a couple of weeks, falling behind some of the other LB candidates.
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Now he is healthy and the Tennison who racked up 54 tackles, 10 for a loss, a year ago seems to be surfacing more and more.
He only has nine tackles thus far this year, but it’s because of his slow start due to injury.
Ladarius is a big fan of Perkins who also got in on the Ole Miss spy game some last week as well as rushing off the edge at times.
“He’s going to be a star here, no doubt,” said Tennison. “He works hard and is a great kid. He works hard every day and he has a bright future ahead of him.”
Overall, Ladarius, number 13 on defense, is OK with the way the defense has played so far this year, with some tweaks needed.
“I know we can tackle better more consistently and I know our coverages can be fine-tuned and a bit tighter, but we go to the ball hard and we play together very well,” he assessed. “We’ve been doing tackling drills, wrapping up drills and drills punching the ball out. We need to create more turnovers.”
Tennison has grown to like his new role as a linebacker/spy/cover man.
“I think it enhances my value to the team to be as versatile as I am. I can cover, I can run support, I can spy. I can do whatever the coaches want me to do,” he stated. “This defense fits my skill set well and I’m enjoying it a lot.”
What’s your name 0013?
Tennison, Ladarius Tennison.
