Ole Miss DL Jared Ivey Discusses Defensive Turnaround, Previews Texas A&M Offense

Ole Miss Rebels lineman Jared Ivey is leading the turnaround on defense and playing the best football of his career while doing so.

OXFORD, Miss. -- The No. 11 Ole Miss Rebels have seen significant improvement from their defense this season thanks to the guidance of new coordinator Pete Golding.

In their 33-7 victory over the Vanderbilt Commodores on Saturday, the Rebels only allowed 229 yards of total offense, and just 60 of those yards came through the air. The Ole Miss defensive front might as well have started paying rent in Vanderbilt's backfield, as the Rebels recorded five sacks and 7.0 TFLs versus the Commodores. 

Leading the charge for the Rebels last Saturday was defensive lineman Jared Ivey, who led the team with 2.5 sacks and 2.5 TFLs. Ivey - who is in the middle of his second season at Ole Miss - is currently playing the best football of his career, as the senior leads the team through eight games with 5.5 sacks and 8.0 TFLs.

The Suwanee, Ga., native was available to speak with the media on Monday and reviewed his performance versus Vanderbilt.

Ole Miss Rebels defensive lineman Jared Ivey running onto the field to face the Mercer Bears in Week 1 (2023) / Carleigh Harbin-The Grove Report

"It felt great to go out there and get a great team win," Ivey told reporters. "We were all over the place [Saturday] night on defense. I feel like we went out and handled business early on in the game."

Ivey revealed what has sparked the defensive turnaround for Ole Miss. 

"Just having that spot-the-ball mentality and going out there -whatever the circumstance is - and giving our absolute best whenever we can," Ivey said. "We've been a lot more consistent in the run game. I think we've rushed really well and I think we've covered tremendously. We've been getting turnovers and having the offense's back the past few weeks."

Ivey mentioned that the defensive line made a big jump this offseason.

"I think the [defensive line] really took this offseason to heart," Ivey said. "Obviously, we didn't end the way we wanted to end last year, and it really left a bad taste in our mouth. We felt like we could have done more, so we really put the work in. Coach [Randall] Joyner was really detailed about what he wanted and how he wanted things to go. I think we've matched his energy with the work."

Ivey also previewed the offense for the Texas A&M Aggies, who the Rebels are set to host Saturday morning in Vaught-Hemingway Stadium. 

"[Texas A&M] has a good team," Ivey said. "They're good on the perimeter, and they've got a really good running back corps. Same type of team we've been facing the past two years since I've been here. It's the SEC, everybody's got players and everybody's got dudes. We try to take the mindset that it's more about us and what we do and what we're not willing to give them."

Ole Miss versus Texas A&M is set to kick off at 11 a.m. CT on Saturday, and the game will be televised on ESPN.