Ole Miss defense relies on its versatility
OXFORD – What position does Myles Hartsfield play?
The short answer is defensive back. The long answer is cornerback, but Star when Ole Miss needs him there, and, oh yeah, now safety too.
Harsfield’s identity crisis is one several Ole Miss defensive backs are facing, although in most cases, not to quite the same extent. The Rebels are down three defensive backs – corner Jaylon Jones (ACL surgery), nickel back Montrell Custis (ALC surgery) and safety C.J. Moore (torn pectoral muscle) – due to season-ending injuries.
Then on Monday, Rebels coach Matt Luke announced that Hartsfield and safety C.J. Miller were day-to-day after rolling their ankles in last Saturday’s blowout of UL-Monroe.
“It’s really not a position battle [at safety] with all the injuries,” Ole Miss defensive coordinator Wesley McGriff said, his laugh tinged with gloom. “We have to play everybody at that spot.”
The Rebels have been able to manufacture depth in their secondary by taking advantage of several players’ versatility and moving two players over from offense. Zedrick Woods, who has started at safety all year, can play both strong and free safety. He also can fill in at the Star position, but with the recent injuries, it’s unlikely he’ll be called on to move. Cornerback Javien Hamilton has also played snaps at Star in practice.
The Rebels moved Armani Linton, who began his college career on defense but switched to running back this season, back to safety last week. With him came former running back Tylan Knight, who filled in at Star.
And that’s not even touching on the linebacker rotations that rely on several players switching up roles in order to avoid having two freshmen on the field at that same time.
Yet despite all that movement, the Rebels held Louisiana-Monroe to three touchdowns in their 70-21 victory Saturday. One of those touchdowns was on special teams, and another came in garbage time.
“It’s mostly more film work, being around coaches and learning,” Hartsfield said last week of playing multiple positions. “It’s one thing to say it when coach is right there, but it’s another thing to go and do it when he’s not there. So, it’s just taking that extra time when you’re at home, or we got iPads, watching more film and watching when you’re not in. Just getting those mental reps.”
Hartsfield finished Saturday with six tackles, tied for second on the team with Linton and defensive lineman Tariqious Tisdale. Freshman cornerback Keidron Smith, whose snaps began increasing even before Hartsfield had to fill in at safety, led the way with seven tackles.
Hartsfield also forced a fumble in the red zone early in the game. ULM made it down to the Ole Miss 7-yard line in the first quarter, threatening to cut Ole Miss' 14-point lead in half, or at least to 11 points. That’s when Hartsfield forced ULM quarterback Caleb Evans to fumble, and linebacker Donta Evans recovered the ball for the Rebels.
“I thought our defense flew around, were kind of bend-but-don’t-break in the first half,” Ole Miss coach Matt Luke said after the game.
Depending on how quickly Hartsfield and Miller recover from their ankle injuries, Hartsfield may continue to get a considerable amount of time at safety. Luke said Monday he thinks Hartsfield is closer to returning than Miller, but he hopes to get both back this week.
With increased minutes after the loss of Miller on Saturday, Linton shined in his first game back on defensive. He added a sack and 1.5 tackles for loss to those aforementioned six tackles. However, McGriff said that considering how recently he made the switch back to defense, he doesn’t want Linton playing 80 snaps every game.
“Having him and C.J. to partner up in that position will be great. So we’ll just have to see how well C.J. progresses,” McGriff said.
Either way, Arkansas will be facing an Ole Miss secondary full of Swiss army knife-type players this weekend.