Why Derrick Nix served as head coach during Ole Miss' scrimmage Saturday
Aug. 12—OXFORD — Ole Miss wide receivers coach Derrick Nix had to remind himself it was only a scrimmage.
Nix, who has been an assistant with the Rebels for 16 years, served as the team's head coach for Saturday's scrimmage at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium. Lane Kiffin, meanwhile, was the receivers coach for the day.
Following the four-quarter scrimmage, Kiffin met with the media to explain why Nix was the man in charge for the day. Kiffin's reasoning was quite simple — there need to be more head coaching opportunities for minorities in college football. After his explanation, he gave way to Nix, who held a postgame press conference like Kiffin normally would.
"(My father) used to tell me all the time, there's more Tony Dungys, there's more Lovie Smiths, there's more Mike Tomlins that never get the opportunity. It hit me when I was discussing this, that, you look around and here's the SEC, here's a couple schools coming in from the Big 12 and, we're in 2023, and between the SEC and Big 12, we have no minority head coaches. That's really unfortunate," Kiffin said. " ... But to give someone the opportunity to speak in front of the team, to handle media, to handle pregame, to handle injury reports ... manage the kind of scrimmage, which is like a mock game that way, I think was really good for him. ... You can't see how good somebody is until they get a chance to do it.
"I saw a whole other level out of (Nix) of his intensity in meetings last night, pregame meal with the players, handling depth charts, doing everything. I was inspired by listening to him this morning talk to the team. ... I just hope coaches like Coach Nix in this profession — Black coaches that don't get opportunities — start getting opportunities, because it is ridiculous."
"I'll tell you, at 3:00 a.m., I had to remind myself, 'Now hey, this is just a scrimmage.' I couldn't sleep," Nix said with a laugh. "Actually, when Coach Kiffin gave me the news ... earlier that day, the initial thought was pumped up. Excited. Got in the staff meeting room and had what I wanted to say, but voice crackling, because these are my peers. ... Obviously, I have a lot to learn. But what an awesome opportunity."
Saturday's scrimmage was divided into four regulation quarters with a largely running clock. Junior quarterback Jaxson Dart was the first quarterback on the field, facing a defense that looked to be largely composed of starters from last year mixed with high-profile transfers. Dart's first drive of the day resulted in an interception in the end zone.
Senior Spencer Sanders took the next series, which resulted in a safety by way of a bad shotgun snap. Dart returned for the next drive and drove the Rebels down the field once again by way of a 24-yard long ball. Dart scored a 1-yard rushing touchdown to cap off the drive. It was the lone touchdown of the first half. Dart saw action in four first-half series, Sanders saw action in four and redshirt freshman Walker Howard got a series as well. Sanders was intercepted on the second-to-last drive of the half.
Freshman Austin Simmons took the first drive of the third quarter was followed by Howard, who threw a perfect deep ball to freshman wide receiver Cayden Lee before scoring a short rushing touchdown. Sanders returned for the next drive and hit freshman Ayden Williams for a 30-yard gain before scoring on a rushing touchdown. Sanders led another touchdown drive later in the half. Dart did not play the final two periods.
Dart and Howard each led one touchdown drive, while Sanders led two.
The Rebels' defense — which is still trying to master first-year defensive coordinator Pete Golding's scheme — got consistent pressure on all the quarterbacks Saturday and, for the most part, held Ole Miss' passing game in check.
"I believe we're in a great position right now. Just starting to fine tune some things," senior defensive end Cedric Johnson said. " ... We just have to clean up a few more things. We should be fine."
Khari Coleman not with team
Ole Miss senior linebacker Khari Coleman "has been removed from activities" with the team, Kiffin told reporters Saturday. As a disciplinary matter, Kiffin says the situation will be handled internally. Coleman made 42 tackles last year — 10 for loss — and had 4.5 sacks in his first season after transferring from TCU.
