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Ole Miss Football: Grove Grinder, Football And Hoops, Almost Nirvana

By Daniel Skipper

OXFORD, MS - OCTOBER 28: Fans of the Ole Miss Rebels walk through the Grove before a game against the Arkansas Razorbacks at Hemingway Stadium on October 28, 2017 in Oxford, Mississippi. (Photo by Wesley Hitt/Getty Images)
OXFORD, MS - OCTOBER 28: Fans of the Ole Miss Rebels walk through the Grove before a game against the Arkansas Razorbacks at Hemingway Stadium on October 28, 2017 in Oxford, Mississippi. (Photo by Wesley Hitt/Getty Images) /
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You’re close to Rebels nirvana when you can pick and choose between Ole Miss football practice updates or streaming Ole Miss basketball in Canada.

Over the past week Ole Miss football has been in their first week of fall camp and Ole Miss basketball spent the week hooping in Canada. To say it’s been a little busy around the desk at OHT over the past week is an understatement. Thanks to the Neshoba County Fair some of us fell just a little behind and have been busy trying to catch up. Luckily for me I had the beginning of fall camp and hoops action from North of the border to help me get back on track. Amazingly I think almost found Rebels Nirvana. Oh its close.

So fall camp began just over a week ago and so far it seems everything is running as good as coach Luke and the staff could hope for. They are finally getting some contact and seem to be staying healthy. There has been news out of Oxford of several players who have turned some heads. Red-shirt freshman Ben Brown has really shown out on the offensive line and even veteran defensive linemen are talking about how hard he is to get around. Everybody should keep an eye on Brown this fall.

More From Fall Camp

More from Ole Miss Football

When we say practice is running good we also mean there has been some good running in practice. True freshmen running backs Tylan Knight and Isaiah Woullard have both been getting second and third looks from coach Derrick Nix and offensive coordinator Phil Longo. Both Knight and Woullard are exciting backs to watch, both are playmakers and both could easily see quality touches especially early in the season.

As of now it appears junior Scottie Phillips is in the lead for the starter role but that could change. I can imagine we’ll running back by committee until somebody separates themselves from the pack. And Ole Miss has a stable full of really good backs for Nix and Longo to choose from. The running back competition is easily the best in fall camp at this point and will surely heat up closer to the season opener.

On the other side of the ball we are hearing sophomore transfer Tariqious Tisdale is having an outstanding fall camp on the defensive line and is seriously practicing for a starters position. At 6’5 and 280lbs he is the real deal who can play inside at defensive tackle or outside at defensive end. The fall competition matchup on the defense to watch is in the backfield at the STAR position between juniors Myles Hartsfield and Vernon Dasher. This is another positional competition which will heat up as the season draws closer because both players are very good and very physical.

Oh The Canada Tour

Canadians play basketball. Before this past week I knew they did but I had never really given it much thought. Now I know just how good they really are after having a chance to watch a couple of games. For Ole Miss basketball to be just entering the Kermit Davis era, to go to Canada and get 3 out of 4 games is pretty darn good. These weren’t just some throw together teams they were jam up good college teams. Honestly, I thought beforehand if the Rebels went to Canada and came back 2-2 it would be a success. No the Rebels went on the road and beat three of the best college basketball teams in Canada.

I saw a scrappy Ole Miss Rebels team which played hard and didn’t give up. They kept clawing and finished out the Canada Tour with a 85-74 win over Ottawa after being down by 27 points midway thru the first half. It may have just been an exhibition in Canada but it was the best comeback in Rebels hoops I can remember in 50+ years. The success of the Canada Tour and the way the Rebels finished it out will go a long way to them achieving success during the regular season and beyond. Great job to coach Kermit Davis and the Rebels. Makes a lot of us want more Rebels hoops!

Next. The GOATS of Ole Miss. dark

So the past week was a pretty good week for Ole Miss football and basketball fans. The 2018 college football season will soon be here and we’ll see just how good the Rebels are right off the bat in Houston, Texas. Things will be all good and all Rebels will be happy. Twenty-one days Rebel Nation and then….. total Rebels nirvana. Hotty Toddy!

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