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Ole Miss sophomore safety Tysheem Johnson likes the direction of the Rebel defense

Chuck-Rounsavilleby: Chuck Rounsaville04/25/22
Tysheem Johnson
Ole Miss defensive back Tysheem Johnson

Ole Miss sophomore Safety Tysheem Johnson cut his teeth on SEC football as a true freshman last season, becoming an important cog in a defense that steadily improved.

You might say it was no coincidence that Tysheem, a 5-10 200-pounder from Philadelphia, PA, started blossoming the same time the Rebel defense did.

While Tysheem wasn’t what you would call a difference maker his inaugural season, he did make an impact. He ended the season with 47 tackles, 4 tackles for loss, 1 quarteback sack, 1 interception and 2 passes broken up while playing in all 13 games in the 10-3 season.

This spring, he picked up right where he left off, except it looks as if he will have an even bigger role in the fairly deep Rebel secondary.

Johnson just seems to have a knack to be around the ball. Witness the Grove Bowl Saturday when he picked off a Jaxson Dart pass and rambled 73 yards for a Red Team touchdown in a 48-36 victory over the Navy squad.

“The interception happened very quickly to be honest. I was reading Dart’s eyes and trying to position myself and before I knew it the b all was in my hands,” he smiled. “I saw one player between me and the goal and told myself I had to take it for six.

“I had good blocking in front of me and it was clear sailing.”

Johnson felt the Rebel defense played well in the annual Grove Bowl, all things considered.

“We came in there with limited defenses and limited looks. We played a lot of man coverage and cover 3 and we executed a simple gameplan,” Johnson explained.

Even though the Rebel defense had a very good spring, Johnson said there’s more to come.

“I think we are just now getting started piecing our defense together,” he continued. “We have a lot of new faces, a lot of transfers, and all of them are going to play big roles in what Coach (Chris) Partridge wants to do.

“Younger guys are stepping up, players from last year are improving every practice and the newcomers are really good. I think we are going to have a good defense in the fall.”

Johnson has liked the consistency he has seen in the top two defensive units.

“We’ve had some poor days this spring, but for the most part we have been pretty consistent,” Johnson assessed. “We continue to get better for each other.

“I believe we are going to have two units that can get the job done and that will keep us all fresh. It’s going to be fun.”

And right in the middle of all the action, mark it down, will be #27, Tysheem Johnson.

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