Deuce Alexander spent his first season at Ole Miss talking like a man who knew something was coming. He said he was flying under the radar and basically dared defenses to keep sleeping on him. Through five games in his second year with the Rebels, the message has been delivered loud and clear.
Alexander has turned into Trinidad Chambliss’ go-to threat and one of the most dangerous receivers in the country so far, piling up 503 receiving yards and five touchdowns on 32 catches. His 15.7 yards per reception tells the story well enough: when the ball finds him, things tend to happen in a hurry.
The senior wideout still sounds like he thinks the best is ahead. “It’s been great.
Just knowing over the years I could have just been showcasing it, but I’m just glad this year I’m able to showcase my talents and just show the world and everybody what I can do. I’m not done, you haven’t seen anything yet,” Alexander said this week.
That breakout has come with a different play caller, and so far John David Baker has put Alexander in spots that make sense for his game. Baker has moved him all over the formation and even let him work out of the backfield, giving him more chances to use the speed that’s been his calling card everywhere he’s played.
“(Baker) just likes to move me around a lot more. Just to let me showcase my speed.
Even last game, letting me get some touches out of the backfield,” Alexander explained. “Things like that.
Just letting me showcase the things I can do. It just fits me more.”
Ole Miss has leaned into that speed in a big way. A lot of Alexander’s touchdowns have come on chunk plays, with several starting at least 35 yards out and ending with him blowing by the defense. He’s scored twice on 62-yard touchdowns, then added another long strike against Vanderbilt in Week 6, racing for a 39-yard touchdown that left the Commodores behind.
Alexander said that kind of play starts with trust - in his speed and in Chambliss to put the ball where it needs to be. “Just trusting my speed and just trusting Trinidad to put it in a spot for me to catch and run,” Alexander said of his Week 6 score.
We worked that during practice, so I was comfortable running through the middle without knowing I’m not going to be able to take a hit and can out-run everybody. Just preparation helped me score that touchdown.”
That score helped Ole Miss build a 28-3 lead late in the second quarter on the way to a 52-17 win over Vanderbilt. Alexander said the Rebels needed that one badly after their first loss of the season and the two-week wait before getting back on the field.
“We needed it bad,” Alexander said of the game. “After taking the tough loss we had to wait two weeks to play another game, so everybody was just anxious and ready to go.
Just keeping our focus there during the week and just (having) next game mentality and just being able to go out there to put on a full game. We still haven’t put a full game together, so excited to see that coming forward.
“Just taking it one play at a time. Just playing as a whole, like as a group.
Some games it’d be defense, some games it’d be offense, some games it’d be special teams - just putting it all together and just coming as one. That’d help us finish out a game.”
Now comes Missouri, a matchup Ole Miss will defend at home in a game Alexander says will carry a College Football Playoff kind of feel. There’s also a personal angle: three former Ole Miss starters are back on the other sideline, and Alexander knows them well from the Manning Center.
“It’s going to be great. It’s going to be fun competing against those guys.
Some guys I was around every day here,” Alexander said of the looming return of three former Ole Miss starters. “Just being able to see them on the field doing their thing and even at a different school, it’s just a great feeling to be on the field with them.”
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Ole Miss Suddenly Faces A Secondary Test At The Worst Time
Ole Miss is suddenly having to adjust its secondary plans after Edwin Joseph Jr. had a tightrope procedure on his ankle following a high ankle sprain. The injury is expected to keep him out at least for the upcoming games against Missouri and Texas, a tough development for a defense that has leaned on him in key spots and now has to shuffle roles on short notice.
Pete Golding will turn to a group that includes Nick Cull, Sharif Denson, Joenel Aguero, Ladarian Clardy and Anthony Robinson III to help cover the load. The Rebels also need steadiness at boundary cornerback, where Antonio Kite, Jaylon Braxton and Jayln Crawford are among the options trying to keep the back end from becoming a larger problem at exactly the wrong time. [Read more 🡒]
Ole Miss Fans Have Every Right To Be Furious About Week 7
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From the Ole Miss side, the frustration is easy to understand because Missouris trip to Oxford was the one drawing the sharpest criticism. A game with that much conference weight feels like it should have been given a bigger national stage, but instead it landed on SEC Network, adding to the sense that the scheduling and TV decisions made this a needlessly messy weekend for viewers. [Read more 🡒]
Ole Miss Faces An Early SEC Test It Cant Afford To Flunk
Ole Miss gets an early SEC measuring stick this week with Missouri coming to town for only the ninth meeting between the schools. The Rebels have had almost no history to lean on in this series, and the one prior win for Ole Miss came back in 1974. This matchup also arrives with familiar concerns still hovering over the defense, particularly against the run, which makes the margin for error feel awfully thin before conference play has even settled in.
Missouri brings enough offensive pieces to make the trip interesting, with Austin Simmons, Cayden Lee and Jamal Roberts all standing out statistically. For Ole Miss, the focus is as much about shoring up the defense as it is about getting enough from Kewan Lacys health to keep the offense balanced. The setup points to a competitive game, but for the Rebels it is also the kind of test that can expose whether the early-season progress is real or just surface level. [Read more 🡒]