COLUMN: Ole Miss Rebels Defense Heading in Right Direction

The Ole Miss Rebels showed vast improvement on the defensive side of the ball against the Mercer Bears on Saturday.

OXFORD, Miss. -- The Ole Miss Rebels showed out on Saturday afternoon, destroying the Mercer Bears 73-7 in Vaught-Hemingway Stadium, and while all eyes are on Jaxson Dart's improvement or Tre Harris' record-setting day, the defense certainly looks like it is starting to take the next step under new defensive coordinator Pete Golding.

The offense cruised for all four quarters, but it took the defense a drive to get the rust knocked off from a season ago. The Golding era at Ole Miss got off to a not-so-great start in Week 1 as Mercer's Carter Peevy took a quarterback draw 75 yards right up the middle of the defense to the end zone. 

Golding's defense responded by not letting Mercer score a point the rest of the game. At the half, the Bears' rushing total had gone from 75 yards to 73. It is just Mercer, so at the end of the day, there is not much to write home about, but Ole Miss' defense played fast and physical and was practically paying rent in Mercer's backfield.

The Ole Miss defense finished Week 1 with four sacks, 11 TFLs, one interception, four pass breakups, one forced fumble and six quarterback hits. 

Freshman LB Suntarine Perkins led Ole Miss in tackles in Week 1

Linebacker Suntarine Perkins and defensive lineman Zxavian Harris are the two Rebels who stood out on Saturday. In his first collegiate game, Perkins led the team with nine tackles and also recorded a sack, TFL, and pass breakup. 

Get used to hearing his name, Ole Miss fans. 

Harris finished second on the team in tackles with six and made life miserable for Mercer's offensive line on Saturday, as the 6-foot7, 335-pound sophomore also registered 2.5 TFLs and one sack. 

Safety Daijahn Anthony was one of the most sought-after defenders in the NCAA Transfer Portal this summer and for good reason. The former Liberty Flame snagged the first interception of the season for Ole Miss in his SEC debut versus Mercer.  

Ole Miss' defense was not perfect on Saturday by any means, but I believe Golding is steering the ship in the right direction and the players are starting to buy into him.