'He's a Great Coach All Around': Quinshon Judkins Gives High Praise To Derrick Nix
OXFORD, Miss. -- The Ole Miss Rebels held their first scrimmage of fall camp over the weekend, and sophomore running back Quinshon Judkins was made available to speak with the media after practice.
The Rebels' superstar tailback gave his thoughts on how the scrimmage went for everyone on the roster including the newcomers.
"I thought today was a pretty good day for everyone, including the role players on this offense and also the young guys as well," Judkins told reporters. "Everybody new to the school is contributing on each side of the ball, so I think it went pretty well for everyone."
On the topic of newcomers, running back Jamious "Jam" Griffin is a recent addition to the roster after committing to Ole Miss on Aug. 4.
Griffin spent the last three seasons with the Oregon State Beavers where he totaled 86 carries for 488 yards and four touchdowns in 21 appearances. Judkins gave his first impressions of Griffin and emphasized that the Rome, Ga., native has a lot to learn in a short period of time.
"Jam is very new," Judkins said. "He just recently got here so to be 23 days away from our first game, there's an emphasis on how much he needs to know as soon as possible. [Ole Miss] being a run-first offense, is major as well. I think that's a big emphasis for him, just learning as fast as possible since he arrived so late in the process."
Lane Kiffin let receivers coach Derrick Nix serve as the interim head coach for 24 hours, including the first scrimmage, and Judkins gave a glowing review for the assistant coach.
"Coach Nix has been a great coach ever since I got here," Judkins said. "From the recruiting process just seeing him on visits, to when I got here as a freshman and him teaching me how to do certain things. Because he was a running backs coach before I got here, so he knows things about the position... I just think he's a great coach all around."
The Ole Miss offensive line is currently dealing with a few injuries, and it showed as Judkins had a hard time finding open space during the first scrimmage. Judkins explained how
"A lot of people are banged up [at O-Line] and just not in the mix," Judkins said. "There were a lot of young guys blocking today. Which happens, it's practice. I think we just have to go turn on the tape and figure out how to fix those things."
Kiffin and his staff are trying to involve Judkins in the passing game more this season, and the Pike Road, Ala., native discussed how the process is coming along.
"It's coming along really well," Judkins said. "I won't say too much about what we're doing this year, but I think it's going pretty good. [I'm] being used at all positions around the field, and I'm very appreciative of the position that coach Kiffin and Weis have put me in."
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