LOOK: Ole Miss Football Holds First Practice in Jacksonville Ahead of Gator Bowl

The Ole Miss Rebels are just days away from their bowl matchup against the Duke Blue Devils.

Ole Miss tight end Caden Prieskorn during the Rebels' first practice in Jacksonville ahead of the TaxSlayer Gator Bowl. / Ole Miss Athletics

The Ole Miss Rebels are just days away from trying to claim their 10th win of the season when they take on the Duke Blue Devils in the TaxSlayer Gator Bowl, and on Monday, the team held its first practice in Jacksonville.

Ole Miss shared a series of photos from that first practice on Monday evening, and you can view the shots from the action below as the Rebels look to end their 2024-25 season on a high note.

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Ole Miss is bringing a lot of familiar faces to this bowl matchup despite many of them being NFL Draft prospects. Key names like Jaxson Dart, Walter Nolen, Princely Umanmielen and others are expected to take the next step in their football careers in the spring, but they all committed to suiting up one final time with the Rebels in this Gator Bowl.

Nolen is one of the top defensive tackle prospects in the upcoming draft, but his decision to not opt out of the Gator Bowl boiled down to a desire to finally play in a bowl game and take the field one last time with his college team.

"Really, it was the fact that I've never played in a bowl game," Nolen said in a press conference earlier this month, "and I felt like this would be a fun experience, especially with the group of guys that we've got. I just wanted to enjoy one last ride with my guys."

Nolen transferred to Ole Miss last offseason from the Texas A&M Aggies, and he made a huge impact in the Rebels defense in his first and only year in Oxford, putting up 48 tackles, 14 tackles for loss and 6.5 sacks while also batting down three passes and recovering two fumbles.

Then, of course, there's the leader of the roster in quarterback Jaxson Dart who recently stated that he plans to declare for the NFL Draft following the Gator Bowl's conclusion. Earlier this month, he also stated that the decision to play in the bowl game was an easy one for both himself and his teammates.

"I think it just shows the bond that we have with one another," Dart said. "There are a lot of guys who really could and have cases to be first rounders and whatnot.

"We kind of just came together and were like, 'We want to finish this the way we started it.' They were pretty easy conversations between us. I can't even really remember a lot of guys even having down if they were going to play or not."

Kickoff in the Gator Bowl on Thursday is set for 6:30 p.m. CT on ESPN.