Ole Miss Rebels’ Linebacker Ashanti Cistrunk: ‘We Have to Work on the Fundamentals’

Ole Miss Rebels’ Linebacker Ashanti Cistrunk discusses what the Rebels need to focus on in preparation for their next game against the LSU Tigers.

OXFORD, Miss. — The Ole Miss Rebels defeated the Auburn Tigers last week 48-34, but there was a glaring weakness that has been repeatedly showing up on the defensive side of the ball.

While the Rebels’ defense has closed out several games, most notably with the Jared Ivey strip sack against Kentucky and the Deantre Prince interception against Auburn, their run defense has really struggled.

Junior running back Tank Bigsby ran through every arm tackle the Rebels effortlessly attempted. Bigsby ran the ball 20 times for a ridiculous 179 rushing yards and two touchdowns. He averaged 8.9 yards per carry, which is essentially a first down every single time he got the ball. Auburn had 308 rushing yards in the game.

And the other Tigers in Baton Rouge will have the same success if the Rebels do not clean this up. Junior quarterback Jayden Daniels is known for taking advantage of porous defenses with his legs. Daniels has 271 rushing yards and five rushing touchdowns on the season. It is up to the Ole Miss defense to make these corrections in practice this week.

“We have to work on the fundamentals,” Ashanti Cistrunk said. “We have to lock in on it at practice.”

The defense is already taking the necessary strides to clean up their persistent mistakes.

“We have been working on tackling and executing our plays in practice,” Cistrunk said.

But they will also need to make sure that they do not neglect the rest of the defensive gameplan because the LSU receivers are a talented bunch.

“They have an excellent receiving core,” Cistrunk said. “But I believe we can keep up with them and cover them.”

Tackling in the open field is one area of concern, but containing a dual threat quarterback like Daniels is a different monster.

“Playing against a dual threat quarterback is hard,” Daniels said. “He is not just a quarterback at that point, he is an athlete. But we are going to try and contain him.”

The Rebels travel to Death Valley this weekend for their 2:30 p.m. matchup against the LSU Tigers.

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