A.J. Finley 'couldn't tell you' why the Ole Miss defense isn't always sharp despite flashes
Nov. 1—OXFORD — Ole Miss junior safety A.J. Finley wishes he had a better answer. But at this point, he's trying to figure out why the Rebels' defense can't put together a full four quarters consistently, too.
The Ole Miss defense has seen plenty of highs and lows in 2021 but was on the up-and-up after solid efforts against Tennessee and LSU. The first half at Auburn last Saturday looked eerily familiar to games against Arkansas and Alabama, however, as the Tigers scored 28 points in the game's opening two quarters.
The second half, however, was a completely different story, as the Rebels (6-2 overall, 3-2 SEC) held the Tigers to just three points. On a night when the Rebels' offense wasn't anywhere near its normal, point-producing self, the defense kept Ole Miss in the game as long as it possibly could.
The key, Finley said, is realizing that, as a group, the defense has the ability to shut teams down. It makes the fact that the group doesn't always look that sharp particularly confounding.
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"I honestly do not know," Finley said. "I couldn't tell you."
Finley did, however, recognize the Rebels came out with a noticeably different mentality in the second half. It's something he believes the defense can carry with it heading into a challenging matchup against Liberty and star quarterback Malik Willis come Saturday.
"In the second half, we definitely came out with a different mentality than the first half," Finley said. "We need to come up with the same mentality the whole game so we can finish the game."
Corral named Maxwell Award semifinalist
Redshirt junior quarterback Matt Corral was named a semifinalist for the Maxwell Award Monday, one of just 15 players nationally to make the exclusive list. It is one of the awards given annually to the best player in college football.
Corral has accounted for 25 touchdowns this season (15 passing, 10 rushing) and ranks eighth nationally in total offense per game (340.2 yards). He leads the Rebels with 519 rushing yards to go along with 2,203 passing yards.
Ealy garners praise
A week after having his best all-around performance of the season versus LSU, junior running back Jerrion Ealy was hardly heard from at Auburn, carrying the ball just three times for one yard. Ealy has battled injury this season but ran for 97 yards and a touchdown against LSU, averaging 8.1 yards per carry.
"That was a health thing prior to this week, when he's been out. This was not by design, the three carries. When you play tempo and you get into a game, and especially when we run RPOs, and these guys were playing Cover 3 all the time, which means there's another person in the box. So, we're calling RPOs, and you have to throw them," coach Lane Kiffin said. "That's why we were so out of balance pass/run."
Kiffin praised Ealy for his attitude and for not hanging his head with less involvement.
"It says what a great kid it is, especially in this generation nowadays where people want to, kids want to complain or go on Twitter to get attention from everybody because they feel bad for themselves.
"This kid was awesome. Met with him and said, 'Hey, want to make sure you knew that wasn't by design,' he had played great the week before ... Kid said, 'Hey, s—t happens, let's go win the next game.'"
Personal connections
Ole Miss senior receiver Jahcour Pearson had a career-high seven receptions for 135 yards against Auburn Saturday night, by far his most productive day as a Rebel since transferring from Western Kentucky.
Sunday was also an exciting day for Pearson — a Fort Lauderdale, Florida, native — as he saw his college teammate Mike White start at quarterback for the New York Jets. White and Pearson played one season together at Western Kentucky in 2017 and is also from Fort Lauderdale.
White has become an internet sensation in the last 24 hours after throwing for 405 yards and three touchdowns in an upset win over the Cincinnati Bengals, his first-career NFL start. White is currently teammates with former Ole Miss star wide receiver Elijah Moore, who caught six passes for 67 yards in Sunday's victory.
"I was excited to see Mike White. He's also from my hometown, too. Man, we played at WKU together," Pearson said. "It was exciting to see Mike and Elijah play well yesterday."
