Ole Miss put practice No. 6 of fall camp into the books Tuesday in Oxford. It was the Rebels' first day in full pads, but there were no bull-in-the-ring or Oklahoma drills. It was simply practice for Ole Miss.

"The pad thing is overrated," said Ole Miss head coach Lane Kiffin. "Basically, you put your knee pads in and that's the only difference. We don't really do a whole lot until we get into scrimmages where it matters...We're more concerned with guys getting reps so we can evaluate them..."

Kiffin said his team is entering what he termed the "grind time" stage of fall camp.

"Some good, hot days," he said. "A lot of good, hard work out there and this is really the grind time. We've got a lot of stuff in on them mentally and obviously the physical toll with the way that we practice and the style that we practice. That's an adjustment for a number of these transfers, which was to be expected. I think they're plugging along and doing well, but we obviously have a lot of work to do to get to where we want to be."

So are the Rebels ahead of schedule, right on it or behind through six days of fall camp?

"I think we're probably close. The variables being all the new guys, so probably not where you want to be normally, but you have to take that into consideration," said.

Ole Miss has 17 new players from the transfer portal with most of them factoring as impact performers this season.

"You've got a lot of new guys that played a lot, and we expect them to play and that's why they're here. It's a work in progress and it's really both sides," Kiffin said.

• Ole Miss will scrimmage for the first time on Saturday. How important is it?

"I think you put more weight into the scrimmage than ever," said Kiffin, "because of the quarterbacks being young. And because of these portal guys everywhere that haven't played together. So as far as with us, we haven't seen the defensive guys tackled. And some are at different positions than where you've seen them before at other places. I don't recall scrimmages ever being more important than these coming up."

• Jaxson Dart and Luke Altmyer continue to battle it out to determine who will be the Rebels' starting quarterback on Sept. 3, versus Troy. We still can't see any separation between the two, but that may change this Saturday when the Rebels hold their first scrimmage of the year. Dart threw multiple interceptions and fumbled a hand-off on Tuesday. Altmyer was efficient but maybe a little less spectacular in the passing game.

Kiffin offered his take, which is the only one that matters.

"I know I sound like a broken record. They do some things really well, at times they look young again," he said, lamenting that neither would likely be Matt Corral.

Kiffin was also asked if high-dollar NIL deals would carry any sway over who takes the field at quarterback.

"That absolutely would have nothing to do with how we play players here," he said. "That's a fair question. That would absolutely have nothing to do with how we play players here. And we've got tons of examples over time. We don't care how many stars you are, where you're from, if you're from the state or whether you're not. When I got here, I was dumb for playing the other quarterback. We don't look at anything that way."

• The first-unit offensive line appears set with left tackle Jeremy James, left guard Nick Broeker, center Caleb Warren, right guard Eli Acker and right tackle Mason Brooks. It has the makings of one of the SEC's best units. Kiffin is also pleased with what he has seen from a group of young linemen waiting their turns.

"We've got some really promising young guys that have a bright future. They're talented and long. This is the time we've got a million reps going on on both fields. These young guys hit walls right now. It's hard for them. They've got to keep plugging along."

• Kiffin addressed special teams really for the first time this season on Tuesday with the media, especially the Rebels' kicking and punting situation. Kicker Caden Costa is suspended for most of the fall due to an alleged use of a banned substance and last year's punter, Mac Brown, graduated. Ole Miss signed transfer portal kicker Jonathan Cruz from the transfer portal, as well as Australian punter Frasier Masin.

"We brought in another kicker due to the situation that we're in. A kicker we're familiar with who actually beat us at FAU years ago on a 50-something-yard field goal...he's done a good job out there. We've got a young punter that is very talented and has got to adjust to the game," said Kiffin.

• Sophomore Rayf Vinson has made the move from wide receiver to safety...at least for the time being.

"I remember watching a highlight tape of him and how well he hit people. He would strike and we've seen him do that in special teams here. We always look outside the box and try people at different spots. he could be back on the other side next week or he could be there staying," said Kiffin.

• NFL scouts from the Philadelphia Eagles, New York Giants. Detroit Lions, Cleveland Browns and Tennessee Titans were at Tuesday's practice.

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