John Saunders, Jr. is now at Ole Miss focusing on improving his game by playing patient
When John Saunders, Jr. entered the transfer portal the first phone call he received was from a Mississippi area code.
He had never received a phone call from Mississippi and was initially caught off guard. On the other line was former Ole Miss co-defensive coordinator Maurice Crum, Saunders answered the phone and liked what he was hearing.
“When I first picked up I was like, ‘Yeah, this could be a good move,” Saunders said on Thursday. “Then I just started watching film on Ole Miss and I’m like, ‘Yeah, this will be a good fit.'”
So Saunders committed to Ole Miss and packed up and made the move from Oxford, Ohio and University of Miami (Ohio) to Oxford, Mississippi. About a nine-hour car ride and 570 miles later the cornerback was at his new home.
With the help of defensive coordinator Pete Golding, cornerbacks coach Keynodo Hudson and safeties coach Wes Neighbors II the adjustment has been a smooth one for Saunders.
“It’s a perfect fit. Just the ability to learn from all the coaches,” Saunders said.
This Saturday’s Grove Bowl will be the first time for Ole Miss fans to see Saunders and the rest of the newcomers close to full speed.
Saunders has plenty of individual goals for himself this weekend in the spring finale including what he calls “playing patient.”
The philosophy of playing with patience in practice comes from Saunders going up against Ole Miss receivers that have some speed to them. Dayton Wade, Jordan Watkins, Chris Marshall and tight end Michael Trigg are some Saunders has lined up against in practice.
“For like a DB, you want to be patient,” Saunders explained. “A wide receiver will give you a lot of moves but you want to wait until like he like declares where he’s actually going. You got to be patient. If you jump out of the way real fast it could be a touchdown.”
Saunders says he is the type of defensive back that is not afraid to hit and be disruptive to an opposing offense. He also intends to make sure the Ole Miss offense is not sitting on the sideline for very long this fall.
“I’m going to come up and hit. I’m not afraid to put my nose in, make some plays,” Saunders said. “Force a lot of turnovers. I’m going to force a lot of turnovers this year. Get the ball back to the quarterback and (Ole Miss head coach Lane) Kiffin on the offensive side.”
With the loss of some veteran Ole Miss safeties from last season there is a position change happening.
Saunders has spent his career playing as a defensive back but will now be shifting to the safety position. He has tried to model his game to the likes of Jalen Ramsey and Xavien Howard.
Making the move to safety has caused Saunders to re-evaluate who he emulates and start watching top safeties, including a former Southeastern Conference standout.
“Now I’m transitioning a little bit to the slot so I’m trying to learn from the slot guys,” Saunders said. “Like Tyrann Mathieu, players like that (and) safeties that around the ball a lot and just making a lot of plays.”
Watch Saunders full interview below. Video provided by Ole Miss Sports Productions.
