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Ole Miss, defensively, would soon forget the opening bell to the 2023 season.
Mercer’s first play from scrimmage on Saturday, a quarterback keeper, went 75 yards for a touchdown. But the Rebels, to their credit, bounced back.
Boy, did they.
Mercer never scored again. Actually, the Bears never once reached the Red Zone. In all, they gained just 160 more yards and Ole Miss cruised to a 73-7 season-opening win.
“I think we were were solid,” Veteran Trey Washington said following practice on Tuesday, in evaluating the Rebels’ defensive performance.
Washington was one of three starting safeties for the Rebels against Mercer. Ole Miss ran a 4-2-5 base defense in the game. However, as reported by the Spirit’s Chuck Rounsaville today’s practice, the Rebels are going with a 3-4 base approach to Tulane.
The Rebels and Green Wave kick off Saturday at 2:30 p.m. CT on ESPN2.
“There’s definitely room for improvement,” Washington said, “but the communication and the calls and all that, we did a pretty good job against Mercer.
“But we’re ready to move on and look to Tulane.”
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Mercer was also the first look at the Rebels under first-year defensive coordinator Pete Golding.
Golding was hired away from Alabama in the off-season to replace Chris Partridge. Golding is the third Ole Miss defensive coordinator in the last three seasons.
He was Nick Saban’s defensive coordinator at Alabama the last three seasons. He’s never had worse than a Top 30 defense in any of his stops as a coordinator.
Golding was at UTSA prior to Alabama.
“Football is football. But it’s definitely different,” Washington said of Golding’s scheme. “More cohesive as far as each piece and making sure everybody’s on the same page.
“But I’m excited. I think we played with a lot of energy on Saturday.”
Washington was one of three Rebels who met the media on Tuesday. The others were linebacker Monty Montgomery and offensive lineman Quincy McGee.
