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Hugh Freeze says Kelly still the starter, Taylor to practice tomorrow

Pat Donohue

By Pat Donohue

Published:

After dismantling Tennessee-Martin in Week 1, Ole Miss coach Hugh Freeze gave his weekly press conference Sept. 7 to gave his observations from the opening game as well as discuss some of the Rebels plans moving forward as they get set to play Fresno State this Saturday.

The big news from Freeze’s presser last week was the naming of Chad Kelly as the Ole Miss starting quarterback, although he did mention then that there was a good chance all three passers would see action in Week 1.

This week, Freeze said Kelly will remain the starter against Fresno State, but reiterated that he can see himself playing all three quarterbacks again because he was pleased with how they performed against Tennessee-Martin.

“I liked all three,” Freeze said of his quarterbacks. “I thought they played well as a unit.”

Freeze even went as far as to say that he could continue to use the three quarterbacks in a platoon and have different packages in the offense for each one throughout the season.

Some other major news out of Freeze’s press conference included an update on sophomore offensive lineman Rod Taylor, who injured his shoulder while boxing in August. Freeze said he expects Taylor to practice tomorrow, and although he has primarily played guard in the past, he will most likely get some work in at left tackle because of the mystery surrounding Laremy Tunsil’s eligibility.

“He’ll probably take some reps at left tackle so we’ll see how he does there,” Freeze said of Taylor. “He’s athletic enough to play that position.”

Speaking of Tunsil, Freeze also provided an update on his All-American left tackle. But the update pretty much consisted of the same information he has had for us all along–not much.

Another young offensive lineman, freshman Javon Patterson, was also brought up by Freeze, who said he graded out the highest of the Rebels blockers on Saturday. He added that it was the best debut Ole Miss offensive line coach Matt Luke had ever seen.

Freeze also went into some detail about what he would like to see his team improve upon after watching the film from the first game. He said he wants to have explosive plays on offense, not just score points, adding that his team had 9 explosive plays and let up 2. Freeze said the Rebels defense needs to make sure it works on what led to those big plays.

Kickoff returns were another area that Freeze said he would like to see the team make some adjustments.

“We’ve got to improve kickoff returns,” Freeze said. “We’re evaluating a couple of people in that regard.”

Freeze also made sure to thank the fans for their great support during a morning game to start the season for Ole Miss. 

Starting linebacker C.J. Johnson will play against Fresno State, according to Freeze, after missing the first game because of a suspension for violating team rules.   Freeze said C.J. Johnson, out last week due to violation of team rules, will play Saturday against Fresno State.

Pat Donohue

Pat Donohue is a contributing writer for Saturday Down South. He covers Ole Miss and Mississippi State. Follow him on Twitter @SportsDownPat.

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