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          SEC Blog

          Return of Laremy Tunsil has energized his Ole Miss teammates

          Laremy Tunsil's presence will allow Ole Miss' offensive linemen to return to their preferred positiions. Todd Kirkland/Icon Sportswire
          • Greg Ostendorf, ESPN Staff WriterOct 22, 2015, 11:30 AM ET
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            • Joined ESPN in 2012.
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          Welcome back, Laremy Tunsil. The SEC’s best offensive lineman will make his debut this Saturday after having missed the first seven games due to a suspension that stemmed from receiving improper benefits and not being “completely forthcoming” about it.

          His Ole Miss teammates are ecstatic to get him back.

          “The offensive practice [Tuesday] was quite enthusiastic,” coach Hugh Freeze said. “And I think he is part of the reason. It gets some other people back into where they were kind of slotted to play – Justin Bell back to center, Fahn Cooper back to right tackle.

          “We seemed to have a little extra pep [Tuesday], and I would guess that [Tunsil] is part of the reason for sure.”

          Ole Miss will have Tunsil and Cooper at the two tackle spots, Bell and Ben Still at center, Rod Taylor and Jordan Sims at right guard, and Aaron Morris and Javon Patterson at left guard. For the first time all season, it’s beginning to look like the offensive line the Rebels planned on running out in August.

          “Hopefully we will be able to stay healthy with those guys,” Freeze said. “We are very optimistic in getting that crew back together.”

          The only player missing from that group is Robert Conyers, a junior who tore his ACL in last week’s loss to Memphis. Conyers was expected to compete for the starting job at center but moved over to right tackle while Tunsil was out.

          As for Tunsil, he’s just ready to play football again.

          “It’s been a difficult process, but he’s handled it as well as I think one could,” Freeze said. “There are days where you were extra frustrated, but most days he was very in the moment. He did the things he could do that day to make sure he was getting better on that given day and tried to isolate that in his mind somewhere where it didn’t affect all the other areas of his life.”

          The 6-foot-5, 305-pound offensive lineman was named second-team All-SEC as a freshman, first-team All-SEC as a sophomore, and despite sitting out the first seven games, he is still No. 4 on Mel Kiper’s latest Big Board.

          The NFL scouts will be anxious to see Tunsil in action again, and they will be flocking to Oxford on Saturday to see him go one on one against Myles Garrett, Texas A&M's star defensive end and one of the top pass-rushers in the SEC. Garrett leads the conference with 8.5 sacks.

          It’s a matchup that we're all excited about.