Rebel Rewind: Williams honored, Perkins snubbed and Ole Miss training camp rolls into Week 4
Ole Miss is in its fourth week of preseason training camp. The Rebels open the 2023 season against Mercer on September 2 at 1 p.m. CT.
School is back in session, but the Rebels have been back at work for nearly a full month now, including their most recent scrimmage held on Saturday. Head coach Lane Kiffin also returned to the post-practice podium to break down the last from the practice fields, while preseason honors continue to roll in for the Rebels.
Ole Miss put a college-football-leading 20 on the Reese’s Senior Bowl preseason watch list. The Rebels aren’t even a day removed from starting quarterback Jaxson Dart being named to the watch list for the Johnny Unitas Award and six Rebels earning preseason All-SEC honors.
“I like Jaxson a lot,” Kiffin said of Dart earlier this month. “I think he’s matured a lot, developed a lot (and) his game is a lot better. He’s mature, but he was still young (last season). It was his second year of college his first year (at Ole Miss).
“He’s really grown into a leader of this team. (The Rebels) vote (with a) leadership group, and he was up there as high as anybody in their opinions. That says a lot, because he’s not real vocal.
“He won them over by how he invests in them.”
On3 also placed true freshman Rebel WR Ayden Williams on its preseason All-American team.
Linebacker Suntarine Perkins, though, was inexplicably left off. Perkins was a Five-Star Plus+ signee in the 2023 recruiting class. He was also ranked as the top recruit in Mississippi, just ahead of Williams.
Ole Miss has now landed the state’s No. 1 player in back-to-back recruiting cycles following Saturday’s commitment of four-star EDGE Kamarion Franklin. Franklin is ranked as a Top 30 prospect by all but one of the four major recruiting services. He’s a five-star on 247Sports and Rivals.
“They are what they are,” Kiffin said Tuesday, in reference to the sky-high year-one expectations for Perkins in particular. “No different than a first-round draft pick. You’re not going to change them so don’t worry about them.
“Just worry about what you can control which is preparing really well and learning the system and taking advantage of the opportunities you get — which he’s done so far.”
OLE MISS TRAINING CAMP, IN HIGHLIGHTS
OLE MISS TRAINING CAMP, IN PICTURES
