Oct 3, 2015; Gainesville, FL, USA; Florida Gators wide receiver Demarcus Robinson (11) catches the ball for a touchdown over Mississippi Rebels defensive back Mike Hilton (38) during the first quarter at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium. Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports
OXFORD, Miss. — Ole Miss’ pass defense has a different look to it, and not for the better.
A year after limiting opponents to less than 195 yards a game through the air, the Rebels have had trouble slowing teams down this season. Never was it more apparent than in Saturday’s 38-10 blowout loss at Florida, which, behind redshirt freshman quarterback Will Grier, carved up Ole Miss’ secondary to the tune of an 83-percent completion rate, 271 passing yards and four touchdowns. That dropped the Rebels to 65th nationally when it comes to passing yards allowed per game.
Though the Rebels (4-1, 2-1 Southeastern Conference) will see a far different caliber of player this week when they step out of the conference against New Mexico State, it could be an area of concern against the Aggies (0-4).
“Some of it is bad planning and not our awareness of where the sticks are when we’re playing zone coverage, and then we’ve had some blown assignments, too,” Ole Miss coach Hugh Freeze said. “It’s all of us that are responsible for it.”
But the bulk of Ole Miss’ problems on the back end haven’t been at cornerback, a position where the Rebels lost All-American Senquez Golson, but rather in the underneath coverage with nickel corner Tony Conner out for the time being with a torn meniscus. Vanderbilt and Florida both peppered the Rebels with hitches, drags and crossing routes and usually broke tackles to either get enough for a first down or break free for touchdowns.
Ole Miss is working to find a solution at Conner’s spot, also known as the Huskie position.
Rover Mike Hilton has played the position in the past and will move there to replace A.J. Moore. Free safety Trae Elston will move back to rover, a position he played the last two years before going to free this year, in Hilton’s place with sophomore C.J. Hampton taking over for Elston for now.
“They’re trying to get the best players on the field,” Hilton said. “They’re confident in A.J., but they feel like he’s still got some work to do, so they’re moving me to Huskie for the week. I’m going to be there until Tony gets back.”
Said Freeze, “We’ve struggled at the Huskie position the last couple of weeks. Not from a lack of effort. It’s just not having the experience Tony did or the tackling skills or the physicality.”
Under third-year coach Doug Martin, New Mexico State ranks just outside the top 50 nationally with 243 passing yards per game, but the Aggies won’t have their regular quarterback, Tyler Rogers, who broke his thumb in last week’s 38-29 loss to New Mexico.
“(Martin’s) schemes are good,” Freeze said.
The injury could mean more carries for NMSU running back Larry Rose III, who’s coming off a career-high 260 yards against the Lobos on just 21 carries, but Ole Miss is more concerned with being able to handle whatever the Aggies throw at it.
“We’re going to take this week and really focus on certain things and making sure we get our groove back” Hilton said. “Hopefully we can come out with a win on Saturday.”
NOTES, QUOTES
PLAYERS TO WATCH
–QB Chad Kelly didn’t have much time to operate against Florida, but he’s the Rebels’ best offensive player right now. With constant pressure in his face, Kelly completed 65 percent of his passes and has thrown for 1,478 yards and 11 touchdowns against three interceptions. He has been responsible for five turnovers in the last two games, something he’s got to clean up.
–DT Robert Nkemdiche has been a force in the middle of the defensive line all season. The junior now has 16 tackles, including 4.5 for a loss, while constantly dealing with double and sometimes triple teams.
–S Trae Elston has been a consistent presence on the back end of the defense and had another strong game against Florida. The senior collected a team-high in tackles with nine of those being solo, the second-highest total for him in that category in his career. Elston is second on the team with 29 tackles and leads the Rebels with three interceptions.
–S Mike Hilton has played all over the secondary during his time at Ole Miss, and he’s going to move again amidst the unit’s struggles against the pass. Hilton will move from rover safety to Huskie to fill in for the injured Tony Conner, a position teams have made a point to exploit in the air with Conner out.
SERIES HISTORY: This is the first meeting between Ole Miss and New Mexico State.
QUOTE TO NOTE: “You take a loss like that, it really wakes you up and makes you prepare a lot better, making sure everything is top-notch.” — Safety Mike Hilton on the 38-10 loss at Florida.
