Lane Kiffin praises development of sophomore defensive backs

Ole Miss football coach Lane Kiffin is pleased with the progress he has seen out of his sophomore defensive backs. With the Rebels kicking off their fall camp this past week, names such as Kyndrich Breedlove, Markevious Brown and Trey Washington are already getting more looks than they were as freshmen.

Kiffin said that is typically how things work, with players often making the most improvement between their first and second seasons. With that in mind, he expects many of those players to step into larger roles for the 2022 season.

“That’s usually the biggest jump from Year 1 to Year 2,” Kiffin said. “Those DBs have looked really good. We kind of are caught up in world where everybody’s supposed to play right away and if you don’t, you leave. Those guys I’m sure didn’t play as much as they wanted to last year and have responded really well and will be significant players.”

Safety Tysheem Johnson was one Rebels player who did manage to make somewhat of an impact as a true freshman this past season. He played in all 13 contests, recording 47 tackles and an interception. As he returns for the 2022 season, he is certainly a candidate to start.

Washington also saw a decent amount of playing time as a freshman, finishing with 23 tackles of his own. Originally a cornerback who made the switch to safety, he figures to make an even bigger impact in 2022. Brown and Breedlove, both cornerbacks, had lesser roles last season with Brown maintaining his redshirt after appearing in just one game.

After ranking ninth in the SEC against the pass in 2021, it’s clear that Ole Miss has some work to do to get where it wants to be. If the Rebels are to improve, Lane Kiffin will need his sophomore defensive backs to play a big part. Ole Miss is scheduled to kick off the 2022 season on Sept. 3 against Troy.