Where is Jaylon Robinson? “Back to full-strength,” according to Ole Miss coach Lane Kiffin
Lane Kiffin met Jaylon Robinson in the training room, where Robinson had spent most all of preseason fall camp in August, and cracked a joke.
“I asked him if he had a redshirt year,” Kiffin said. “He said, ‘Yeah, why?’ I said, ‘If you sit in here any longer, you might want to use your redshirt year as good as JJ (Henry) is playing.’”
Robinson was out on the practice field later that day.
Still, availability has proven to be a moving target for Robinson ever since he transferred from UCF in mid-May.
He played 36 of a possible 73 snaps in Ole Miss’ season-opening win over Troy and a season-high 40 (of a possible 77) in a 59-3 rout of Central Arkansas. Another injury snag cost him Georgia Tech and Tulsa, however, and he logged just 12 snaps in a 22-19 win over Kentucky on Saturday.
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Ole Miss (5-0) is one of just 16 undefeated FBS teams remaining.
The Rebels are also ranked No. 9 in Top 25 polls for both college coaches and the Associated Press.
They’re currently slotted as the SEC’s No. 4 overall team in recent power rankings released by On3, and nearly every national projection this week has them playing in a prestigious Florida bowl in the postseason.
One outlet has them in a New Year’s Six.
“I know we’re deeper there than we’ve been, and that’s really without Jaylon doing much because of injury,” Kiffin said. “He’s been hurt in camp and most of the season.
“I think he’s back to full-strength now.”
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Robinson couldn’t have timed his return better.
Each of Ole Miss’ remaining seven games are against SEC opponents, including a road trip to Vanderbilt this weekend. Kickoff is set for 3 p.m. CT on SEC Network.
More directly linked to Robinson, however, is the predicted-by-Kiffin incremental, but steady, emergence of Henry, the second-year wide receiver from Texas.
While Ole Miss prefers its wideouts interchangeable positionally, the Rebels have utilized both Robinson and Henry primarily in the slot. All five of Henry’s season receptions came in the first three games. But in the first Rebel drive against Kentucky, and with a more limited game script due to Kentucky’s pace, which entered the day No. 12 out of 14 SEC teams, Henry was motioned into the backfield and handed the ball for a 21-yard rushing gain.
They tried it again, but to the opposite side of the field, later on. Henry got five yards. He was also targeted once in the passing game, though quarterback Jaxson Dart, now two games into his run as the official starter, wasn’t able to connect with him.
Actually, Ole Miss, perhaps surprisingly, is the nation’s No. 98 passing offense.
The Rebels are averaging just over 208 yards per game, which, to be fair, says more about Kiffin’s slow-and-steady approach to Dart, a first-year starter under center, and a completely-remade group of wide receivers.
Ole Miss is still working through roles.
“That group, just like this team, has a chance to be really special because it’s like all these NBA free agents coming together and they usually play better at the end of the year when they’ve had more time together,” Kiffin said.
“I’m hoping we get better because of that. Because of guys getting used to how we do things and fitting in and getting more comfortable and a new quarterback getting more comfortable with them.”
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Ole Miss brought in a total of 28 transfers.
Twenty-four came from the portal, in a class ranked as high as No. 2 in the country.
Dart, from USC, was widely considered a Top 10 addition and the prize of the haul. But the Rebels also landed decorated running back Zach Evans (TCU), as well as TCU EDGE Khari Coleman, USC tight end Michael Trigg and wide receivers Robinson, Malik Heath (Mississippi State) and Jordan Watkins (Louisville).
Ole Miss lost its Top 3 receivers (Dontario Drummond, Braylon Sanders and Jahcour Pearson) from last season. The Rebels were 10-3 and reached the Sugar Bowl for the 10th time in school history.
So, Kiffin has turned Ole Miss into a run-first team, to great success. The Rebels are among the best in FBS and the SEC in rushing. They’ve had at least one 100-yard rusher in five straight games — a feat last accomplished in 1999.
The passing attack is coming, though.
“Jaxson, outside of the interception, which was horrible, did the big things really well,” against Kentucky, Kiffin said.
Kiffin is the fastest Ole Miss coach to 20 career wins since the legendary Johnny Vaught.
He added, “Made some really big throws, some off-balance throws having to fade back and lobbing them over there. There was some little things that really could have broke the game open if he would have done right. That will come as he gets more experience. I thought for a game like that, he did really well.”
