Will Echoles has played Georgia twice. In one, as he remembers it, the Bulldogs never had to punt. In the other, Ole Miss made them punt and won the Sugar Bowl. On Tuesday, the Ole Miss defensive tackle said Saturday’s rematch in Oxford comes down to which of those two games shows up again.
Well, the first game we didn’t stop them. I don’t think they— they ain’t punt the ball the whole game. So that was a big thing in the first game. Second game, we got them to punt. So that was a sigh of relief.
Will Echoles, on last season’s two Georgia games
That’s his memory of the game in Athens, not a stat sheet, but the point is the one Pete Golding made Monday: against Georgia, everything starts with the run. Echoles laid out the job for Saturday in one breath.
It’s going to be a big thing this Saturday too, you know, getting them into obvious passing downs, making them punt the ball, and honestly just keeping them off the field.
Will Echoles
Obviously Georgia, they can run the ball. That’s their pedigree. So, you know, it all comes down to who’s going to strike blocks, get off blocks, and make plays.
Will Echoles, on Georgia’s offense
“I made a name for myself in this game”
Echoles doesn’t hide how much this opponent means to him. The Sugar Bowl, Ole Miss 39, Georgia 34, is where a lot of the country first learned his name.
Man, I love playing Georgia. You know, it’s a big-time game, a very physical game. It’s a game you want to be a part of. Like last year, I made a name for myself. In this game, in the Sugar Bowl. So it’s always a special time when I play them.
Will Echoles
What went wrong in the two losses
Ole Miss lost to Florida and Texas, and both times the run defense gave way. Asked whether there’s a pattern, Echoles pointed to the fourth quarter in Austin. He said it wasn’t missed tackles. It was angles.
Texas game, I think we did a good job versus the run until the 4th quarter, obviously. And it wasn’t because we missed tackles. It was because we took the wrong angles… I mean, we had guys in the right place.
Will Echoles
It all comes down to just being disciplined. We did a great job versus Missouri because we knew what they was running… at the end of the day, it just comes down to communicating and who want to, who want to win.
Will Echoles
Ole Miss held Auburn to 2.3 yards a carry on Saturday. Georgia is the next test of whether that version travels.
Every game is a playoff game
The first College Football Playoff rankings came out Tuesday night, a few hours after Echoles spoke, with Ole Miss at No. 10. He said the rankings aren’t the focus, and he explained why.
PG tells us all the time, as long as we focus on this and not the outside noise, we’ll be okay. I mean, I think we’re in a great position right now. And, you know, now we got 2 losses. So right now it’s to the point where every game we play is a playoff game that we got to win.
Will Echoles
He handles the NFL attention the same way.
I can’t control the NFL. I can’t control what they say about me, what they think about me. So I can’t do nothing but just be here day by day, you know, improve my draft stock.
Will Echoles
The touchdown
Echoles also scored a 1-yard rushing touchdown against Auburn. Asked about it, he said the team had been practicing the play for a long time, and he was the last of a group of defenders still waiting to score this season. His last touchdown on offense before that?
It’s probably peewees or something like that. Peewee, I played like fullback and linebacker, so that was probably the last time I scored a touchdown.
Will Echoles
Quotes from Will Echoles’s Georgia-week press availability in Oxford, Nov. 3, 2026. No. 2 Georgia (7-1) visits No. 10 Ole Miss (6-2, 4-2 SEC) on Saturday, Nov. 7, at 6:30 p.m. CT on ABC. For more, listen to Locked On Ole Miss every weekday, or join the Everydayer Club.