Ole Miss' Cedric Johnson Believes D-Line Will 'Be The Strength Of The Defense' in 2023

Senior defensive lineman Cedric Johnson is optimistic about the Ole Miss Rebels' defense in 2023.

Ole Miss Rebels defensive lineman Cedric Johnson is coming off a season that was hampered by injuries and has been forced to learn a new scheme entering his senior year. But the veteran is not worried in the slightest and expressed great optimism when talking to reporters at the 2023 SEC Media Days on Thursday morning.

"I'm feeling good," Johnson told reporters. "Ready to get back out there and play the game I love."

Johnson was immediately asked about Ole Miss' new defensive coordinator, Pete Golding, and gave his honest opinion on the assistant and expressed what his role will look like in Golding's defense this fall.

"I like [Golding] a lot," Johnson said. "If you didn't know, he's a pretty funny guy. I really like how particular in detail he is in the defense. But he doesn't stray away from the fact that at the end of the day, we're just playing ball... I feel like I'm going to be moving around a lot more, might be dropping back [in coverage] some, coming off the edge like a usually do. It's going to be a lot more fun for me and the D-line in general."

Johnson continued that he has high expectations for the Ole Miss defensive line this fall.

"I think it's going to be the strength of the defense," Johnson said. "I personally believe that. We've grown a lot and we have more depth. We've got a few freshmen and all of them look great. [Chamberlain Campbell], Deejay Holmes, and Myles [Saulsberry]. We also got a lot of great [transfers] in Stephon Wynn and [Isaac] Ukwu. We have great depth with a lot of guys being able to play."

Johnson is very confident in his unit entering the fall.

"I just love the way we're looking right now," Johnson said.

Johnson explained that the entire team is ready to bounce back after finishing the 2022 season on a disappointing note.

"It's going to mean a lot to us," Johnson said. "Me personally, it's going to mean a lot to bounce back from last year. I don't like to blame anything on my injury, I just left a lot out there on myself. It's going to mean a lot to me and the team."

Despite dealing with injuries last fall, the Mobile, Ala., native still managed to register 32 tackles, 4.5 TFLs, and four sacks. Johnson was asked if there is any singular defender who looks poised to breakout this fall on the Ole Miss defense, and posited great leadership with his response.

"I'm honestly excited about everybody," Johnson said. "Monty [Montgomery], [Jeremiah] Jean-Baptiste, Ashanti [Cistrunk], Jared Ivey, JJ Pegues, the guys on my back end, Trey Washington. Anybody on our defense I feel like could have a breakout season this year."

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You can follow Ben King on Twitter at @BKing_2023.

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