Ole Miss was a ‘leap of faith’ for second-year safety Jadon Canady
Third-year head coach Lane Kiffin called out the Ole Miss defensive backs following the Rebels’ dominant, 52-3 win over Middle Tennessee.
Ole Miss has allowed all of 10 points over its last 10 quarters dating back to the second half of the Peach Bowl. (Here’s your first look at the Peach Bowl rings!) But Saturday the Blue Raiders found a way to pick on the secondary at times.
Quarterback Nicholas Vattiato finished with 209 passing yards, which made up most of MTSU’s total offense for the day.
“I just think we didn’t play very clean in the back end,” Kiffin said. “They dropped some balls, and then a guy open on a deep post. Quarterback missed the throw. We’re not going to be able to play like that in the SEC against better passing teams. We got to clean that up.”
Second-year safety Jadon Canady said the message has been received loud and clear.
“There’s always room for improvement,” Canady said after a practice for Wake Forest this week. The Rebels and Demon Deacons kick off in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, on Saturday at 5:30 p.m. CT on The CW.
“Wasn’t nothing major, but obviously some things we can improve on. Going forward, just try out best every day to get better.”
RELATED: PFF grades for the Ole Miss offense and defense from MTSU
Canady is a one-time transfer from Tulane.
He appeared in two games and had two tackles for the Rebels last season before he was redshirted.
He earned his first Ole Miss start against MTSU and finished with five tackles and two pass break-ups. Canady has 24 career games (22 starts) under his belt across Tulane and now Ole Miss.
“That process was definitely a little different starting off the first six months at Tulane,” Canady said. “A little wishy-washy coming here. Honestly a leap of faith. Definitely worked out for me.
“Year 1 was kind of iffy coming back off the ACL; such a major injury (two seasons ago). I worked hard to get back to where I was. Year 2 took off for me. Getting hurt like that definitely shows you to slow down your days.”
OLE MISS FOOTBALL NOTES TO KNOW
Ole Miss has a plus-125 scoring margin this season, tied for the second-largest in SEC history through two games. … The Rebel defense held opponents scoreless for the year’s first 89 minutes and 45 seconds, the longest season-opening stretch since at least 1974. … The three points allowed are the fewest through two games since 1991. …Ole Miss leads the FBS in rushing defense (27.0 yards per game). The Rebels have held consecutive opponents to fewer than 30 yards rushing for the first time since 1999.
