OXFORD, Miss. – The Ole Miss Rebel football team practiced inside Vaught-Hemingway Stadium on Monday afternoon, as they continue their preseason work.

The second workout of the day saw the Rebels welcome two running backs into the fold. Senior Brandon Jacobs returned to the field after an injury had limited him for much of the last week, and safety Mico McSwain moved from the defensive side of the ball into the running back corps.
“We moved Mico McSwain into the backfield today,” said Ole Miss head coach Ed Orgeron. “He did some good things. He has great speed and is an excellent athlete. We are thin at running back right now, so we are going to give him a shot. Brandon (Jacobs) ran the ball well today. It was good to see him perform like he did.”

Orgeron was also pleased with his club’s overall improvement since Saturday’s scrimmage. “I think today was probably our best day of practice so far,” Orgeron said. “It was our best day as far as making improvement, correcting mistakes and showing attention to detail. We simplified things a little, and the guys executed well.”

In the morning session, the Rebels ran through special teams practice to open things up before moving into drill work on the offensive and defensive sides of the ball. Working on the practice fields, the squad ran seven-on-seven drills and continued to work from there with ones against ones and twos against twos.

Orgeron and the Rebels take to the field for Tuesday’s single practice at 2:45 p.m.

-UM-
August 15, 2005