Defensive Back Trey Washington, Ole Miss Rebels 'Focused On Us' Entering Bye Week

OXFORD, Miss. -- It's rare that a safety leads a team in total tackles, but that is the case for Trey Washington of the No. 13 Ole Miss Rebels entering the bye week in Week 7 of the college football season.

Washington is somewhat of a unicorn on the Ole Miss defense in the sense that he came to campus straight out of high school for the 2021 season. He has seen some highs and lows since joining the Rebels, but he knows that a lot of the team's goals are still on the table entering this idle week before facing the Auburn Tigers.

In short, Ole Miss may already have one loss on its docket, but there is a lot of football left to be played, and that means that there is time to improve on both sides of the football. This bye week is an opportune time for just that.

"We're more focused on us," Washington said on Monday. "Auburn is ahead, and we'll have some install for that, but we're more so focused on us. I think my freshman year, the bye week was like the third week. So, this is kind of a sweet spot in the middle of the season.

"Obviously, we thought we were going to be undefeated. We're one loss short of that, but it is what it is. It's time to keep going and improving."

Week 5 and Week 6 were two different stories for the Ole Miss defense. Against the LSU Tigers on Sept. 30, the Rebels surrendered over 600 yards of total offense and 49 points during a thrilling 55-49 win in Oxford. On Saturday against the Arkansas Razorbacks, it was the offense that struggled to get going, and the defense gave up only 39 yards on the ground and 20 points.

Head coach Lane Kiffin has stressed the need for both sides of the football to be "on their game" at the same time (another key focus during a bye week), but Washington noted a few improvements that his unit made between games the last two weeks, including forcing some important turnovers.

"I think one thing we did better, we made plays and took advantage of the plays that came to us, like the pick," Washington said. "One thing we can do better is just execution between plays."

It has been an up-and-down campaign for Ole Miss in terms of offensive and defensive production from week to week, but the lows have only bitten the Rebels once in the box score: a Week 4 loss to the Alabama Crimson Tide. This team is currently 5-1 overall and 2-1 in league play, and it is much easier to implement improvements after a win than a loss.

"I think [the defense is] on schedule," Washington said. "We're looking to improve, but I'm confident in this defense. I think we've got a lot of people across the room who are performing well."