Monday’s and Tuesday’s practice reports are presented by Southern Q-Sauce. Ole Miss grads Hunter and Mimi Simpson formed Southern Q-Sauce craft barbecue sauce. Southern Q-Sauce is crafted by hand in small batches to capture that tangy, sweet and smoky taste with just enough heat. The original recipe features the Deep South flavors of apple cider vinegar, sweet brown sugar, tomato and hickory. It’s a blend of Tennessee, Mississippi and the Carolinas with a sweet, smoky finish.
Southern Q-Sauce also has a variety of rubs — from Ole Faithful, which is an all-purpose rub, to Ole Smokey, Honey Pecan, The Clucker and The Longhorn. Whether you’re a professional pit-master or an occasional backyard chef, Southern Q-Sauce has the sauces and rubs to have your friends and family coming back for more.
Check it our for yourself. Go to www.SouthernQSauce.com and use the discount code REBELGROVE for 15 percent off your order.
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OXFORD — Juice Wells couldn’t do everything he wanted to do in the spring.
The former South Carolina wide receiver couldn’t get in all of the work he wanted to with quarterback Jaxson Dart and his new teammates. So he focused on getting healthy.
Months later, Wells is fully healthy and a huge part of No. 6 Ole Miss’ high-powered offense. Wells had two catches for 70 yards, including a 61-yard touchdown reception, in this past Saturday’s 76-0 win over Furman and his role in the Rebels’ offense is just now getting unlocked.
“Oh, yeah, I feel great, man,” Wells said Monday following Ole Miss’ practice earlier in the day. “Our training team did a wonderful job, you know, making sure I'm back fully healthy. They do a wonderful job with all the other players, too, man. I really appreciate them a lot. You know, they take a lot of their time, invest into us and make sure we're fully healthy. So shout out to them for sure.”
Wells, meeting with local media for the first time since his decision to leave South Carolina for Ole Miss, said he chose the Rebels “because I feel like Ole Miss was the best team in SEC. Honestly, they have a great chip on their shoulder. They’re coming off a great season. They do a great job winning. You know, I just wanted to be a part of this amazing coach with Coach (Lane) Kiffin and the team that's building around here.”
Of course, Wells’ decision to leave South Carolina wasn’t popular in Columbia, S.C. Wells had 68 catches for 928 yards and six touchdowns in 2022 and entered the 2023 season as a huge part of the Gameco*cks’ offense. A leg injury derailed all of that and Wells’ decision not to push his return to the lineup led to some ill feelings inside and around the South Carolina program.
Ole Miss travels to South Carolina on Oct. 5.
“I’m focused on Middle Tennessee, you know, but it's just gonna be another game for me,” Wells said, referring to the Rebels’ 3:15 p.m. date with Middle Tennessee Saturday in Oxford. “I mean, you know, everybody got their own opinion. I feel like, you know, that's their thought, but it doesn't bother me at all. I'm just here to play ball.”
Wells is playing ball with an electric offense. Ole Miss rolled up more than 700 yards Saturday versus Freeman, spreading the football around to a deep receiving corps. Both tight ends, Caden Prieskorn and Dae’Quan Wright, caught touchdown passes from Jaxson Dart. Wide receiver Tre Harris caught two.
“This is my first time being around a group of guys who's actually just good like that,” Wells said. “It’s a lot of people like a lot of weapons on this offense and I'm just happy to be a part of these guys. They make me better and I can't wait to see what else we got in store for the season.
“I mean, you can't really double anybody, so I mean, that's probably your best bet, you know, man-on-man-man and see what they can do. But you’re definitely licking your chops when you see no safety over top.”
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Nolen happy to be part of Ole Miss program: Walter Nolen thought about Ole Miss as a high school recruit. The Powell, Tenn., native liked the Rebels, but at the time, the grass was greener elsewhere.
So Nolen signed with Texas A&M, a part of the Aggies’ vaunted 2022 signing class. Two years later, Nolen is with the Rebels, a huge part of Ole Miss’ heralded transfer portal class. The move to Oxford, one that became official this past December, was in the back of Nolen’s mind over the past couple of years in College Station.
“Just seeing like playing Ole Miss the past two years, just seeing like the family orientation they got around here and just how they support each other, even if things are going bad on the field, it just made me reopen my eyes and see like, this team I wanted to be (a part of) it,” Nolen said.
Nolen said the decision to leave Texas A&M last fall “wasn't really a tough decision. It was more so like a tougher decision to find out where I wanted to go.”
Nolen, a 6-foot-3, 305-pounder, said he heard from “a pretty hefty amount” of suitors,” but he didn’t really dive deep into the recruiting process. The focus, quite quickly, was on Ole Miss.
“I just tried to focus on the main thing, keeping the main thing the main thing and focus on what I want to accomplish this year.
“I paid attention a lot to what was going on Ole Miss. I did think I was going to be here a little bit in high school, but as I got older, it kind of faded a little bit, but going back into the portal, it kind of opened my eyes, like, this is where I should have been. I was kind of considering it early on when they offered me when I was younger. Just because it's close to home, that gave me, like, kind of a home-team hero-type feeling, even though technically Memphis ain't Mississippi, but it's still closer.”
Nolen recorded two tackles in Ole Miss’ opener versus Furman but he occupied multiple blockers, freeing his fellow defenders to wreak havoc in the Paladins’ backfield.
“I feel like I've improved a lot,” Nolen said. “I’ve gotten bigger, so I feel like that goes a lot in football. If you got more side, it is a little easier. So just me putting my weight back on from high school and just focusing on the small things have been pretty small. I feel like I'm getting better every day.
Nolen said he believes the only unit capable of handling Ole Miss’ defensive line is the Rebels themselves.
“And I wholeheartedly believe that,” Nolen said. “I feel like we got one of the best defensive lines, if not in the country. I know for sure in the SEC.”
It’s a huge season for Nolen’s future as well. He’s projected by many as a first-round choice in next spring’s NFL Draft. He just needs to show consistency. He said Monday his professional future isn’t something on the forefront of his mind.
“I feel like I'm still a little kid when it comes to game,” Nolen said. “I’d just be excited to be out there and play. So I don't really think about that too much.”
Howse has breakout game for Blue Raiders: Middle Tennessee transfer defensive back John Howse IV had a career day Saturday in the Blue Raiders’ 32-25 victory against Tennessee Tech.
Howse flew all over the field and was the leader in the secondary. He tied a career-high for tackles in a game (5), recorded his first TFL, and recorded his second career interception. It set a Middle Tennessee touchdown.
“We were in cover three and I messed up the first time around but when we went back to it, I was ready,” Howse told Rivals Monday. “I saw the QB step up and I made a play.”
