Just two weeks separate diehard fans from their favorite game: College football is back! While the college football season begins on August 24, Rebel fans will have to wait one more week to watch the highly anticipated 2024 Ole Miss football season, which opens in Week 1 against Furman.
However, the Rebels are still in fall camp and Monday marks the start of Week 3 of action. How will the Rebels approach Week 3 to ensure they are ready on August 31? Here are some things to look for in Week 3 of fall camp.
1. Health
While most of the team appears to be in good shape, two players in the wide receiver room have not been in full form thus far. Jordan Watkins and Juice Wells, two players we expect to start in the slot and on the outside for the Rebels, have been doing a lot of rehab during the media-watching periods in camp.
Watkins and Wells, however, were in full gear and were doing change-of-direction drills while the other receivers ran their routes in the air.
Wells, who is coming off foot surgery, hasn’t worn a black jersey all training camp, so maybe he picked up something in Week 2. I wouldn’t be too concerned, as the South Carolina product hasn’t played in a game since September of last year, so it’s safe to assume he can’t wait to get back on the field. This also helps some new and younger players get more reps, which in turn helps them develop and learn the system more thoroughly.
2. Depth of the offensive line
It’s no secret that the Rebels are very confident up front as they have several players they believe can get the job done, but at the end of the day they can only play five. Several players have been working at center, which is a welcome sight as in the past an injury to Caleb Warren would have derailed the entire offense.
The likes of Gerquan Scott and Reece McIntyre have been spotted at the center position before. Diego Pounds has also looked solid at the left tackle position throughout the auditions, suggesting he could be the man on Jaxson Dart’s blind side early in the season.
The Rebels have some time to test some of these guys for the regular season, as they should be able to rotate players in and out over the first two weeks (and maybe until the Wake Forest game), but don’t sleepwalk into the building of a P4 team, as things could get dicey if they can’t protect Dart.
The season is almost here and like a kid on Christmas Eve, we can’t wait to see what the 2024 college football season has in store for us under the Christmas tree.
