Ole Miss CB Trey Amos Shares Motivation For Critical 2024 Campaign

Ole Miss Rebels cornerback Trey Amos has a "chip on his shoulder" entering the 2024 season.

Ole Miss Rebels CB Trey Amos during 2024 fall camp. / Ole Miss Athletics

If there's one battle in fall camp that has captivated the minds of Ole Miss fans, it's the daily struggle between cornerback Trey Amos and wide receiver Tre Harris.

These two players have gone against one another in the passing game in a sort of "power-on-power" matchup since Amos transferred to Ole Miss from the Alabama Crimson Tide. There is plenty of motivation for the new Rebel corner this season, but his battles against Harris are helping mold him into a better player.

"It makes you want it more, the sense of urgency every play going against Tre Harris," Amos said on Monday. "Tre Harris has been doing his thing out there every single practice, me and him."

Amos is accustomed to facing elite talent. He originally played for the Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns where he accumulated 59 total tackles and an interception in 34 games played, and he saw 12 tackles and five pass breakups in his season with the Crimson Tide.

Needless to say, Amos has gone against talented players all across the Southeast, but he is now aiming to transition into a new scheme under Ole Miss defensive coordinator Pete Golding. Some of Golding's transfers have struggled a bit at learning the defense's terminology, but Amos believes he had a bit of a leg up in that race.

"Coming from Alabama, [the defense] has some similarities," Amos said, "so it wasn't too hard to get into the playbook. It's pretty easy, pretty smooth. Some of the words are tweaked, but that's going to happen."

Ole Miss has a revamped defense for the 2024 season. After an offseason full of work in the transfer portal, the Rebels are hoping to be a formidable force up front and in the secondary when SEC play begins, but only 11 players can be on the field at a given time, so that breeds competition.

That's another motivating factor for Amos and his teammates. Not only do they want to improve their own game, but they want to make sure they have a primary role in the defensive rotation and help Ole Miss make its mark in the SEC and national college football landscapes this season.

"I feel like everybody has a chip on their shoulder," Amos said. "Everybody wants to compete and win in the SEC, but that just starts off in practice. Knowing the other person on the side of you, they're going to be practicing hard, so you've just got to work harder and build the team up with that."

Amos and the Rebels will open their season at home against the FCS Furman Paladins on Aug. 31. Kickoff is set for 6 p.m. CT, and the game will be televised on SEC Network+.