As Ole Miss and Mississippi State gear up to face Southeastern Conference opponents this weekend, both programs have provided player availability reports ahead of each team’s respective contest.
In late August, the SEC instituted a new rule requiring member institutions to provide public reports on student-athletes’ availability to participate in each conference game. Now, the regulation has come to fruition with both Mississippi SEC programs showing a little more transparency as game day approaches.
Under the reporting structure, student-athletes will be designated as “available,” “probable,” “questionable,” “doubtful,” or “out” for their next game. To provide additional clarity on game day, student-athletes will be designated as “available,” “game-time decision,” or “out” for the upcoming matchup — a rule mirroring injury reports required by the NFL and other professional sports organizations.
Rebel frontman Lane Kiffin, known to be mum on injuries, has officially obliged to the new conference rule as No. 6 Ole Miss has offered its first player availability report of the season ahead of Kentucky’s arrival in Oxford.
Though Ole Miss’ report is quite lengthy, with 26 players mentioned, 14 of them are listed as “probable,” meaning they will more than likely get playing time barring unforeseen circumstances. Notable “probables” are defensive end Jared Ivey who missed the last game with an apparent ankle injury and offensive lineman Caleb Warren who has yet to see the field of play this season.
Ole Miss (4-0) has two players listed as “doubtful,” safety Louis Moore and defensive tackle Akelo Stone. Eight players are ruled “out” for Saturday’s contest, but only one — senior offensive lineman Jeremy James — was expected to play a crucial role on the team at this point in the year.
As for Kentucky (2-2, 0-2 SEC), the Wildcats have three defensive linemen, one offensive lineman, and a wide receiver ruled “out” for the matchup against the Rebels. Mark Stoops’ squad is also expected to be without two inconsequential pieces on the defensive side of the ball.
Saturday’s ballgame between the Rebels and Wildcats will get underway at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium at 11 a.m. and will be broadcast on ABC, as well as participating SuperTalk Mississippi stations. Ole Miss is currently a 17.5 favorite over Kentucky.
Mississippi State (1-3, 0-1 SEC) is no stranger to the player availability reporting process. Head coach Jeff Lebby and company issued their first report last week ahead of the team’s 45-28 loss to Florida. However, a major injury took place in the conference showdown with Bulldog signal-caller Blake Shapen being ruled out for the remainder of the season after hurting his shoulder. Freshman quarterback Michael Van Buren has since been handed the keys to Mississippi State’s offense.
Lebby’s crew is traveling west to take on a stacked No. 1 Texas bunch without running back Keyvone Lee, defensive tackle Kalvin Dinkins, and safety Tyler Woodard, among others. A couple of Mississippi State defensive backs, as well as defensive lineman Kedrick Bingley-Jones, are ruled “questionable” for the game.
For a Bulldog group that has faced adversity early in the 2024 campaign, a positive sign is that star safety Isaac Smith has been ruled “probable” after a blindside block knocked him out of the contest against the Gators. A bad sign for Lebby’s team was sophomore wideout Creed Whittemore following in the footsteps of UNLV quarterback Matthew Sluka in announcing that he will utilize his redshirt and sit out the remainder of the 2024 season.
For Texas (4-0), Steve Sarkisian has yet to formally announce if starting quarterback Quinn Ewers, who is listed as “questionable,” will return to action after suffering an abdominal injury during the Longhorns’ 56-7 win over UTSA two weeks ago. A name familiar to just about every football fan in Mississippi, Arch Manning, took the reins as Texas’ field general last week. Manning had 258 passing yards, two touchdowns, and two picks in his team’s 51-3 win over Louisiana-Monroe.
Though it is uncertain who will trot out at quarterback for Texas this weekend, we do know the Longhorns will likely be without four running backs as injuries have plagued that position group in Austin this year. Defensive back Derrick Williams, Jr. is ruled as “doubtful.” Otherwise, Texas will roll into the weekend with a relatively healthy roster.
Saturday’s game between the Bulldogs and Longhorns will kick off at Darrell K. Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium at 3:15 p.m. and will be broadcast on the SEC Network, as well as participating SuperTalk Mississippi stations. Texas is currently a 38.5 favorite in the matchup.
The full player availability reports can be found here.
