Three former Ole Miss players will return to Oxford on Saturday as Missouri Tigers, just six games and less than ten months after leaving the Rebels in the transfer portal.
Following a strong 2025 Ole Miss campaign, wide receiver Cayden Lee, cornerback Chris Graves Jr. and quarterback Austin Simmons all entered the transfer portal and chose to join a conference foe in the Missouri Tigers. Since joining, the three transfers are now starters in Columbia, and Simmons and Lee have become stars, ranking top five in multiple SEC categories.
Despite the unique situation, head coach Eli Drinkwitz said that the game is about much more than the return and should be, instead, a testament to what the Tigers have done this season.
"There's going to be a lot made about Cayden and Austin and CG going back, but really it's more about our team playing well and the opportunity that we've created for ourselves being in a top-15 matchup," Drinkwitz said in a press conference on Tuesday.
Drinkwitz mentioned that in two of the Tigers' six games, previous players or coaches matched up against their old teams, explaining that it's the "new age of college football." In the Week 7 matchup between No. 13 Missouri and No. 9 Ole Miss that statement is even more applicable, as the Rebels also have three former Missouri players and coaches on roster.
Former Tiger running back and Ole Miss starter Kewan Lacy, wide receivers coach and former Missouri player L’Damian Washington and even Horatio Fields, who spent four weeks on a contract with Missouri, will all be facing off against their old team. On both sides, specifically the Tigers, Drinkwitz said there is no hard feelings.
"The biggest thing is to not make it bigger than it is," Drinkwitz said. "You have great memories there, there was great things that happened there. From all intents and purposes, I think everybody left in a positive light with both sides... That was a part of their journey that made them who they are right now and I don't think there has to be a whole lot more to it than that."
Although the Rebels have former Tigers, just one is a starter, compared to three Missouri starters that will be traveling to a stadium they used to call home. When asked if Ole Miss will have an advantage because of a deeper understanding to the three starting transfers on Missouri's roster, Drinkwitz turned the question on its head.
"I think I'd be more concerned with what we know about them," Drinkwitz said. "Austin's been going against that defense for three years, Cayden Lee went against that defense for three years. So the difference is what they know against those guys was based off of a system that they ran while they were there, we don't run anything like what they ran, so we have our own system. I think the advantage for us is we kind of know what they do and we got Chris that can tell us what their base defense is."
Outside of utilizing what the transfers know about Ole Miss, the head coach is focused on how this group has improved through six weeks and what they can apply to one of the biggest tests of the year. Missouri, who struggled through the first four games with lapses in the secondary in a 17-point win against Kansas, a slim victory over Troy and loss to Mississippi State on the road, recently flipped their season around in the last two weeks, primarily on the defensive end.
Offensively, Simmons has impressed all season, but after giving up 31 points to Mississippi State, concerns surrounding the Tigers' secondary and defensive line became prominent. The secondary gave up 360 Kamario Taylor passing yards and three scores, while the line allowed Fluff Bothwell to run for 122 yards on 25 carries. But in the last two contests, Missouri has allowed less than 200 passing yards from both Aaron Philo and Marcel Reed and held No. 8 Florida and Texas A&M to 69 combined rushing yards.
A large part of the line's success is due to sophomore sensations in Daeden Hopkins, Donta Simpson and Jason Dowell, who lead the team in sacks. Simpson, who has a team-second five sacks, credits the turnaround to team chemistry.
"The brotherhood is very close. That's why we've been dominant, because all of us as a defense, we come together," Simpson said. "We take that serious here and the brotherhood's just been something I've never seen in a team before."
The line will be tasked with stopping Lacy, who is listed as healthy after recovering from a left shoulder injury in Week 3 against LSU, and slowing down star quarterback Trinidad Chambliss. Chambliss — consistently regarded as one of the top quarterbacks in the country — excels through the air and on his feet, accumulating 1,435 passing yards, 11 passing touchdowns and five rushing scores through five games.
"He's a very fast quarterback. He knows how to escape the pocket and that's what we're gonna focus on this week, just keep him in the pocket," Simpson said.
Accompanying the Drinkwitz-proclaimed "elite" players, is another "elite" player in wide receiver Deuce Alexander, who has 32 receptions, 503 yards and five touchdowns this season. His yards rank fifth among SEC receivers and touchdowns are tied for second, despite playing one less game than many conference receivers.
On the defensive end, Ole Miss allows the most rushing yards per game in the conference and with Missouri running back Jamal Roberts entering Oxford on a recent tear, he could certainly cause some problems for the Rebels' defensive front. Roberts has ran for over 200 rushing yards in each of his last two games and reached the end zone five times.
Although Ole Miss has encountered difficulties in stopping running backs and allowing an average of 38 points against three Top 25 teams, Drinkwitz said that the defense and team, as a whole, will present challenges.
"Defensively... elite front, elite talent on their front. Very good at rushing the passer. Very big on the interior. Obviously got really good linebackers (and) in the back (the) ends got a lot of depth to it, so very good defensive football team," Drinkwitz said. "They're a total team. That's why they're ranked in the Top 10 and after watching the tape, played really well in all three phases against Vanderbilt."
Injury report
Missouri has a lengthy injury report as of Thursday night, which is very similar to their report against Texas A&M. Despite having 11 players listed as questionable or probable against the Aggies, they all were available come game time.
Against Ole Miss, the Tigers have two doubtful players in Jeremiah Beasley and Brett Norfleet and two questionable players in Roberty Woodyard Jr. and Sterling Webb. There are also seven probable Missouri players: Austin Simmons, Cayden Lee, Cayden Green, Daeden Hopkins, Darris Smith, Santana Banner and Cameron Keys. Missouri has six officially sidelined Tigers, with the most prominent being Ahmad Hardy.
On the Rebels' side, they will be without nine players, most importantly safety Edwin Joseph. The starter has tallied 18 tackles, ranking eighth on the team and third amongst members in the secondary.
Cornerback Antonio Kite was another notable player on the injury report, listed as probable. Kite has one of four Ole Miss interceptions on the season. As a whole, Ole Miss has nine players out, one questionable and three probable, most of which are reserves.
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