ON SAM WILLIAMS’ RETURN

Ole Miss football received news that linebacker Sam Williams will return to the field this fall after his sexual battery charges were dropped on Tuesday. He started practicing with the team again on Sunday. 

“With no pending charges, Sam Williams has returned to football activities,” Ole Miss Athletics said. “We defer to his legal council on questions regarding his case.”

In July, the Ole Miss linebacker and defensive lineman was arrested for sexual battery, according to a police report obtained by the Clarion Ledger. 

The report states that Williams was arrested on the morning of July 24 and was released later that afternoon after paying a $25,000 bond.

Head coach Lane Kiffin was asked to speak of the linebacker’s return in his weekly press conference. 

“To my knowledge, Sam had been working out. He wasn’t working out with us because he was away from all team activities,” Kiffin said. “But we did see him a little bit. We worked him in yesterday, and obviously, he has a ways to go, but you can see why. Really, that’s our first time with him with no spring ball. You can see flashes of why he’s shown to be a really good player at times.”

The 2019 season was Williams’s only season thus far at Ole Miss. He previously played at North East Mississippi Community College where he was the defensive linemen of the year for the Mississippi Association of Community & Junior Colleges (MACJC). 

ON THE WEEKEND SCRIMMAGE

According to Kiffin, the team did the best they could with what they had on the field in the team scrimmage this weekend. 

“We were down a number of people,” Kiffin said. “We had 27 guys out, either injury or COVID related. That was challenging. Unfortunately you don’t have three’s, so a lot of guys had to play a lot of snaps. Some guys didn’t get to play as much as we’d liked in certain positions.”

With key players in the offense out of play, like quarterback John Rhys Plumlee, the defense dominated the scrimmage.

Currently, Plumlee is dealing with hamstring tightness. 

ON THE RETURN OF DEFENSIVE BACKS

Three defensive backs also returned to the field this week after they missed days because of COVID-19. Athletics did not provide names.

“We did get three COVID DBs back starting yesterday,” Kiffin said. “That will help the numbers there.”

According to Kiffin, the offensive line has been hit with COVID-19 issues while the tight ends have been hit with injuries. 

Ole Miss is preparing for their season opener against Florida on Sept. 26 at 11 a.m. The game will be televised on ESPN.