Rebels' Safety Trey Washington on Lane Kiffin 'Challenging' Ole Miss Defense vs. Arkansas

Ole Miss Rebels safety Trey Washington was recently made available to speak with the media.

OXFORD, Miss. -- Ahead of their matchup versus the LSU Tigers, Ole Miss Rebels coach Lane Kiffin challenged his offensive line to step up following their subpar performance versus the Alabama Crimson Tide, and the group responded accordingly.

The Ole Miss offense exploded for 706 yards of total offense in its 55-49 upset win over LSU. The offense was virtually perfect last Saturday, but the defense, on the other hand, would have had trouble stopping a runny nose. 

Now entering Week 6 versus the Arkansas Razorbacks, Kiffin is challenging his defense to answer the call on Saturday. Ole Miss safety Trey Washington has emerged as a leader on the defense this season and recently spoke with the media about the challenge Kiffin issued to the unit and how they are handling it.

"We love the challenge," Washington told reporters. "We had an unfortunate performance that can't happen again and we know that. We're up to the challenge. We want everything on our back and we're ready to stand on everything."

Washington revealed how Kiffin addressed the defense earlier in the week.

"It was a team thing, everything's team-oriented," Washington said. "It was basically put [the performance vs. LSU] to bed, no matter if it was the offense was good or the defense was bad. This is a new week with new challenges so we're looking forward to it."

Ole Miss Rebels safety Trey Washington on the field versus the LSU Tigers (2023) / Carleigh Harbin-The Grove Report

Washington finished second on the team in tackles versus LSU (seven) and is currently the leading tackler on the Ole Miss defense entering Week 6 with 32 total tackles. Despite Washington's hot start, the junior knows there is more that he can improve upon.

"My play [versus LSU] was solid," Washington said. "I missed four tackles and that can't happen. We already emphasized that this week and we did it today. We were physical today so we just have to carry it through the week."

The Ole Miss defense will be in charge of stopping one of the best dual-threat quarterbacks in the country this Saturday in Arkansas' KJ Jefferson. The last time Jefferson played the Rebels in Oxford (2021), Ole Miss barely escaped with a victory in a 52-51 shootout. Washington discussed what stands out about Arkansas' signal-caller.

"I think it's easy to see what stands out," Washington said with a laugh. "His size stands out for sure, but I think over the past two or three years he's gotten better at reading defenses and executing the pass game. He's become a real threat through the air."

Entering Week 6, Jefferson has thrown for 1,050 passing yards, 10 touchdowns, and four interceptions on 125 attempts.

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