Offense Beats Up on Defense in First Ole Miss Football Scrimmage

Head coach Lane Kiffin was highly impressed by the Rebel offensive performance during the team's first scrimmage over the weekend. The defense? Not so much.

Jeff Lebby's fast-paced, high flying offense had their way on Saturday.

The Ole Miss football team held their first scrimmage of the fall training camp inside the sealed-off gates of Vaught-Hemingway Stadium on Saturday, an event completely closed off to all media and spectators among COVID-19 restrictions. 

In Monday's press conference, head coach Lane Kiffin was highly impressed by the Rebel offensive performance over the weekend. The defense? Not so much.

"It was good to see. The quarterbacks did some good things," Kiffin said. "The counter is, when you're making a bunch of plays on one side, that means you're not making them on the other side."

Jerrion Ealy sparked the offense with one "really nice" long run. Elijah Moore excelled, making some big catches in the passing game, one while getting his helmet ripped off and still coming up with the ball.

But Kiffin's comments are two sided. Is it good to see that dominant performance from an offense? Or does it just show the flaws on the defense?

One interesting note from talking about the scrimmage was Kiffin's high praise of redshirt sophomore quarterback Matt Corral. Corral and true sophomore John Rhys Plumlee are locked in a two-man race for the Ole Miss starting job, but it seems like – at least on Saturday – Corral made the plays to stand out. 

"I thought Matt played extremely well. He made some big plays and was really accurate," Kiffin said. "John had a little more up and down day, but did some really good things. He also fumbled once for a big turnover. But both did some things to excite us."  

Cornerback Keidron Smith elaborated on Corral's play on Saturday, laughing at Kiffin's assessment that the offense had a dominant day in comparison, but recognizing the strengths of Corral's play.

"Matt's doing a lot better. He's getting a lot better," Smith said. "He feels more confident in the pocket. We're always talking about things but I think he's doing really good throughout camp."

Outside of the quarterbacks, while Jerrion Ealy will obviously carry the load in the running back room, Kiffin had some high praise for true freshman tailback Henry Parrish Jr. out of Miami. The top-rated recruit in Kiffin's first class, Parrish is likely to play from the start and will not redshirt. 

More From The Grove Report:

Training Camp Notebook: 6 Telling Statements from Monday Press Conferences

Position Previews: Ole Miss Searching for Offensive Line Depth

Photo Slideshow: Ole Miss Football Holds First Scrimmage in The Vaught

You can join The Grove Report community by clicking "Follow" on the top righthand corner of the page. Also, be sure to like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter @SIRebels and @nategabler.