OXFORD, Miss. – When Ole Miss kicked off spring practice Wednesday, three players were noticeably absent.
There was no Laquon Treadwell catching passes and mixing it up with teammates, no Laremy Tunsil locking down the left side of the offense line, no Robert Nkemdiche blowing up plays for the defense. All three have been busy preparing for the upcoming NFL draft.
“[It was] kind of dull,” Ole Miss running back Jordan Wilkins said. “The practice was quiet, not as excited, but we kind of got used to it. We worked into it, and a couple of the players that needed to step up stepped up. And we got through it.”
“I wouldn’t say dull -- I think the energy was good -- but it was definitely weird,” added tight end Evan Engram. “It felt like we were missing their presence.”
Treadwell, Tunsil and Nkemdiche arrived at Ole Miss together three years ago as part of that now famous 2013 recruiting class. Each player was responsible in their own way for turning the Rebels from a middling SEC team into one of the top teams in college football.
Treadwell caught 82 passes last season and led the SEC with 1,153 yards receiving and 11 touchdowns. Tunsil was suspended for the first seven games, but many still project him to be the No. 1 pick in next month’s NFL draft. And ever since he was a freshman, Nkemdiche has been one of the most dominant defensive linemen in the conference.
But they have all moved on, each declaring early for the draft, and it’s up to the returning players to fill the void.
“It’s a little different, but I think those guys are ready to step – the guys that are behind them,” quarterback Chad Kelly said. “They’ve seen how hard those guys worked, and they understand that there’s a standard that’s been set around here.
“Every day we come out to practice, we just have to keep working hard. That’s the only way we can get better.”
Kelly had an opportunity to join the other three and leave school early for the NFL, but he turned it down because he still wants to win an SEC championship and a national championship while at Ole Miss. And he believes this team coming back can do that.
“It wasn’t a tough decision at all,” Kelly said Thursday.
But was his decision justified? Can the Rebels really accomplish all their goals now that the 2013 recruiting class has been broken up?
“Oh yeah. We’ve had the 2013 class, and we’ve got a 2014, 2015 and 2016 class,” Engram said. “These guys coming in, they’re ready to play. They’re great talent. They work hard. And the next guy is ready to step up. That’s what great teams need is depth. If one guy goes down, the next guy is just as good and can compete and help the team just as well the first guy did.
“We’re going to miss, miss, miss Rob and Laremy and Laquon and Cody [Core] – even the seniors had a great role on the team and we’re going to miss them – but I’m really excited about what this team has to offer, the way we’re working and where we’re going.”
The college football world will know just how good this Ole Miss team is when it opens the season in prime time against Florida State. And that game should be all the motivation the players need to get amped for practice, even in the spring.
They’ll forget all about their three former stars with the Seminoles on deck.