Ladarius Tennison finding fit in crowded Ole Miss secondary
Aug. 8—OXFORD — If there's one thing to know about Ole Miss sophomore safety Ladarius Tennison, it's that he really only has one speed. And that speed is very, very fast.
Tennison transferred from Auburn this offseason following two seasons with the Tigers. He was a four-star prospect coming out of Florida's Rockledge High School. In two seasons with Auburn, Tennison made 43 tackles. Coaching overhauls while at Auburn — he had two different head coaches and was set to have his third different defensive coordinator — made transferring the best move for Tennison.
Tennison entered the transfer portal in late November and chose Ole Miss in December. He was an early enrollee this spring and had three tackles in the Grove Bowl.
"Auburn just wasn't a great fit for me, just switching, having different coaches," Tennison said. "So, I entered the portal, just talked to a lot of coaches, and I just felt like this was the place for me to be, just the scheme and how Coach (Chris) Partridge uses their players. So, I just felt like it was a better fit for me."
Tennison isn't the biggest guy on the field, listed at 5-foot-9, 200 pounds. But if he's on the field, he's going to bring it. He considers himself a versatile player who can line up all over the field. He has been seeing reps with what looks like the first-team defense in practice, though that unit is deep and has rotated players frequently thus far in practice.
His commitment plays off the field as well; Tennison said he has been setting two alarms each morning — one for 5:30 a.m. and the other for 5:35 a.m. He arrives at the football facilities before 6 a.m., doesn't leave until about 9 p.m. and is in bed by 10 p.m., he said.
"I'm the type of person that always played fast. Practice how you play," Tennison said. "So, if you practice soft and practice slow, that's how you play in the game."
Tennison figures to be a key component of a secondary that features veteran pieces combined with new talent from the transfer portal.
Junior safety Isheem Young transferred in from Iowa State and joins veteran senior safeties Otis Reese and A.J. Finley, experienced cornerbacks in seniors Miles Battle and Deantre Prince and up-and-coming players like sophomore safeties Tysheem Johnson and Trey Washington, redshirt freshman cornerback Markevious Brown and freshman cornerback Davison Igbinosun, who has been the talk of camp.
"I feel like we definitely could have one of the best secondaries in the country, not just in our conference," Brown said. "I feel like we have a lot of guys at their positions that can play at a very high level. We have a lot of fast and physical guys. We've got a lot of smart guys, we've got a lot of guys who can change positions."
Practice notes
Sophomore quarterbacks Jaxson Dart and Luke Altmyer once again both took reps with the first-team offense, and each had some bright moments. Dart hit senior wide receiver Jonathan Mingo on a pair of deep balls during one team session, while Altmyer found senior wide receiver Dannis Jackson for a pair of deep completions.
Redshirt sophomore linebacker Austin Keys started last season's game against Alabama but later suffered a knee injury and missed the final seven games of 2021. He is healthy now, however, and has rotated in with the first-team defense. Keys says he feels like he is back at 100%.
"I feel like I came back stronger and more mentally tough. Really just understanding the scheme and all the jobs that I have to go through," Keys said.
MICHAEL KATZ is the Ole Miss athletics reporter for the Daily Journal. Contact him at michael.katz@djournal.com.
