Ole Miss Safety Ladarius Tennison Discusses Playing Former Team, Improvements From Week 6

Ole Miss Rebels safety Ladarius Tennison will be suiting up against his former team, the Auburn Tigers, on Saturday.

OXFORD, Miss., -- The No. 9 Ole Miss Rebels have a plethora of versatile players on the defensive side of the ball.

The Rebels are in fact so deep at the safety position, that the starters are determined by a rock-paper-scissors tournament held before each game.

Ole Miss safeties Ladarius Tennison, Tysheem Johnson and Isheem Young participate in this weekly ritual. Tennison spoke with the media on Monday after practice and explained where the idea came from.

"It was before we started the season," Tennison told reporters. "We have three stud safeties so this allows us to not fight over who goes in, so it is fair to everyone."

Tennison even mentioned what his go-to rock-paper-scissors move is.

"I'm a rock guy," Tennison said. "I always stick with rock."

Tennison was a member of the 2022 Ole Miss transfer portal class that has helped the Rebels get off to a 6-0 start and he will get a chance to play against his former team, the Auburn Tigers, on Saturday. 

The Rockledge, Fla., native spent two seasons with the Tigers before deciding to enter the NCAA Transfer Portal back in November of 2021.

Tennison discussed what this matchup means to him.

"It's just another week, just keeping my head clear," Tennison said. "I'm just going to go in and play my type of football."

Tennison talked about how he has improved as a player since being at Ole Miss. 

"I got smarter," Tennison said. "Just being able to learn a lot of things from this type of defense and from the coaches. So I feel like I changed a little bit."

The Ole Miss defense has taken a step forward this season, but they hit a speed bump in Week 6 allowing 20 first-half points to the Vanderbilt Commodores. Tennison discussed what the unit is focused on improving this week before the Auburn game. 

"Energy, making sure we're coming out fast," Tennison said. "Everyone started off slow [versus Vanderbilt] so we just have to be more physical, tackling-wise, and be more prepared."

---

You can follow Ben King on Twitter at @BKing_2023.

Hey Rebel Fans! Want to see the Ole Miss Rebels in action? Get your Ole Miss game tickets from SI Tickets here!

Want the latest in breaking news and insider information on the Rebels? Click Here.

Follow The Grove Report On Facebook and Twitter.