‘Old heads’ lift Ole Miss to relevance
Fifth-, sixth-year seniors provide mindset, talents
OXFORD — They call themselves the “old heads.”
No. 10 Ole Miss (8-2, 4-2 SEC) will honor its veteran players on Senior Day before facing Vanderbilt (2-8, 0-6) on Saturday (6:30 p.m. CT, SEC Network). The Rebels have 35 seniors, tied for most in the SEC. A whopping 15 of them are “old heads,” either fifth- or sixthyear seniors who elected to come back for one final year of college when they easily could’ve gone pro or transferred elsewhere penalty free.
Without these veterans, Ole Miss wouldn’t be in the position it’s in. If they win out, the Rebels will secure the first 11-win season in school history.
This was always the plan when the old heads announced their returns to Oxford.
“We started this journey earlier in January,” fifth-year senior receiver Braylon Sanders said. “Just working hard and doing what we’ve got to do to be the best team we can be. We’re showing that each and every Saturday this year.”
The list of super seniors leading the team is long. Receivers Sanders and Dontario Drummond. Cornerbacks Deane Leonard and Jaylon Jones. Transfer portal additions such as center Orlando Umana, receiver Jahcour Pearson, safety Jake Springer and linebacker Mark Robinson.
But no senior personifies Ole Miss’ transformation quite like defensive end Sam Williams.
Williams led the Rebels in sacks each of the last two years, he has more
than doubled his career total in 2021, setting a school record with 10.5 sacks with plenty of season to go.
He has emerged as a vocal leader who has helped change the mindset of Ole Miss’ long-maligned defense.
“I stopped playing for the hate of the other team,” Williams said, “and I started playing for the brothers on my side.”
A new attitude
Williams doesn’t remember when or why he decided to come back to Ole Miss. Clearly he made the right decision, though.
He has helped his NFL Draft stock immensely by putting together an Allamerica-type campaign.
More importantly, he has leveraged his experience as a way to erase years
of could’ve-beens for Ole Miss. He talks to his younger teammates about the close losses in 2019 and 2020. He and the other “old heads” were there when the Rebels went 0-5 in one-score games in 2019. They were there in 2020 when Ole Miss ping-ponged scores with Alabama and LSU but lost each time.
Now that’s not happening. Ole Miss is 3-0 in games decided by 10 points or fewer this season. Last year’s backand-forth loss to Alabama turned into this year’s back-and-forth win over Arkansas.
Last year’s Rebels let Auburn score in the final minutes of a comeback. This year’s Rebels didn’t let that happen against Tennessee.
The Ole Miss defense that allowed 38.3 points per game last season is allowing 26.2 this season. Adding Springer, Robinson and linebacker Chance Campbell helped. But the bigger difference, at least in Williams’ mind, has been outlook.
“As the old heads, we tell the younger guys, ‘Y’all don’t understand that feeling,’” Williams said. “‘Dang, we almost beat these guys.’ Now we have a chance to do it. So why not do it? That’s the whole point. Why not do it? What’s holding us back? We separated those things that were holding us back, took them out of the equation and now look where we’re at now.”
It’s a weird time to be a senior. Only 19 of the Rebels’ 35 seniors are listed in the school’s release of players expected to participate in Senior Day activities. Some of those players have an extra year of eligibility remaining because of the COVID-19 pandemic, including offensive lineman Ben Brown, linebacker Momo Sanogo and defensive back Keidron Smith.
Other seniors with extra eligibility are not listed as Senior Day participants. This group includes Campbell, tight end Chase Rogers, defensive end Tavius Robinson and defensive backs Otis Reese and Tylan Knight.
Ole Miss coach Lane Kiffin said he doesn’t know which seniors will choose to participate and hasn’t begun conversations with players about whether they want to return for 2022.
Kiffin and company will have to replace 13 key contributors on top of draft-eligible juniors such as quarterback Matt Corral, running back Jerrion Ealy and offensive tackle Nick Broeker, who may go pro as well.
Before Ole Miss goes looking for replacements for these seniors, though, the old heads still have goals they want to achieve.
nsuss@gannett.com