Ole Miss taking a game day approach to final weekend of fall camp
For all intents and purposes Ole Miss is now in regular season mode and game week protocols have already started even though the season opener is still eight days away.
With so many new faces on the roster head coach Lane Kiffin got the dress rehearsals started early as Ole Miss began its “Fast Friday” practices. Those entail a friendly game of tennis baseball by the coaches.
Kiffin was on the mound serving up pitches to his assistants.
The shortened Friday practices, which last about an hour is an approach Kiffin takes heading into a game 24 hours later.
“That’s actually what we do before a game where it is really short,” Kiffin said. “Which is probably surprising as most schools will probably go full speed a day before the game. We actually walk through on Thursday so it’s a buildup process of their muscles.”
A transition from training camp to regular season preparation already got underway earlier this week at Wednesday’s practice.
The game day approach will carry over into Saturday’s final scrimmage of fall camp. The team will stay in their usual hotel for home games and have meetings prior to the scrimmage.
Then the scrimmage will have as much of a feel as to what next Saturday will be like when Ole Miss hosts Troy to kick off the 2022 campaign.
“We basically create a Troy team made up of service-like guys for the most part,” Kiffin said. “Play it as close to a game as we can. Stats won’t mean anything as they’re always very lopsided. Create some first downs and keep some drives alive. Make the defense play more than three downs.”
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With Ole Miss putting a bow on fall camp it does seem to mean Kiffin has made a final decision on the quarterback battle.
At least not publicly.
Kiffin continues to say it is still a 50-50 competition to become the new Ole Miss signal caller. Despite the countdown to the first game of the season in single digits, it looks to stay that way for now.
Both Jaxson Dart and Luke Altmyer were out at practice on Friday – despite a rumor that surfaced on the Ole Miss Spirit message board – and looked perfectly healthy and ready to take the field.
In a dialed back setting on Friday there were not any significant reps to take note of from either Dart or Altmyer.
“I think both guys have played better,” Kiffin said. “I feel really good, which is the first time I’ve probably said that about both guys with where they’re at and how they’re doing. We’ve got a really good situation.”
As noted already on the site, Kinkead Dent is still on the Ole Miss roster but has morning classes when media has been able to view practices (Monday, Wednesday and Fridays) and has been absent from the action.
