'It Makes Us Better': Ole Miss DB John Saunders Praises Pete Golding's Defensive Rotations

Ole Miss Rebels defensive back John Saunders Jr. was made available to speak with the media on Tuesday and gave high praise to new defensive coordinator Pete Golding.

OXFORD, Miss. -- The Ole Miss Rebels are entering Week 3 undefeated thanks in large part to their defense, which is off to an encouraging start under new defensive coordinator Pete Golding. 

Due to the depth Ole Miss now has on the defensive side of the ball - thanks to Golding's recruiting chops - the Rebels are now able to implement a player rotation at all three levels of the defense. Golding's rotation is new to Ole Miss, but the players are starting to pick it up, and their mentality is changing because of it.

Ole Miss defensive back John Saunders Jr. spoke about how the rotation has helped every player make the most of every snap during his media availability on Tuesday.

"You have to make sure that every rep you get [you're getting after it] because you might be out the next series," Saunders told reporters. "You have to make the most of every play that you're in. It brings out the best in us. Once we get in a rhythm and are all rotating and making plays, it really makes us better and allows us to play faster."

Saunders continued to express great confidence in his teammates.

"And we have such a talented group," Saunders said. "The ones are good and our twos play like ones."

Ole Miss' defense stepped up last Saturday in the 37-20 victory over the Tulane Green Wave, as the unit only allowed three points in the second half giving the Rebels a chance to pull away. Saunders explained what went right and what went wrong versus Tulane.

"I think we played pretty good," Saunders said. "We started off the first half giving up a couple of explosive plays, so we had to nip that in the bud. But after that, I think we played a pretty good game. We didn't give up any more chunk plays and we were getting off the field on third down in the second half so I think we made some good improvements."

The former transfer also previewed the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets' offense, which is traveling to Oxford for a Week 3 matchup versus Ole Miss on Saturday.

"They have some talented receivers, pretty fast guys," Saunders said." But we're going to work technique and do what we got to do."

Georgia Tech's receiving corps will be without a key playmaker, however, as wideout Chase Lane was declared out for the matchup against Ole Miss on Tuesday.

The Rebels are set to host Georgia Tech at 6:30 p.m. CT on Saturday in Vaught-Hemingway Stadium and the game will be televised on SEC Network.