Photo By: Evan Farrell
https://mississippiscoreboard.com/
By Billy Watkins
It’s not a misprint or an exaggerated stat line.
While playing defensive end at Oregon a year ago, Blake Purchase never missed a tackle in 15 games, according to Pro Football Focus. He was 32-for-32 on takedowns — an incredible feat when you consider the speed of the college game, the will of the opposing players and the human element that makes all of us mess up at some point.
So I asked him: How did you do it?
Purchase laughed. “I didn’t even know it until I saw someone had posted it online,” he said. “I guess I just made the ones that came to me. I’ve always been pretty good at it because I’m always wanting to make plays.”
Purchase, a senior who transferred to Ole Miss in January, is part of a defense that seemed to have forgotten the art of tackling against Florida nearly two weeks ago. As Rebel head coach Pete Golding said postgame: “Tackling the guy with the ball is kinda important.”
On Monday, Golding revealed that in the first four games his defense has missed 62 tackles that led to 482 yards, or 70 percent of the yards given up this season.
The Rebels — 3-1 overall, 1-1 in the SEC and ranked No. 9 nationally — play Saturday afternoon at Vanderbilt. Tackling was a point of emphasis last week prior to the open date and continues to be.
A 6-foot-3, 245-pound native of Green Valley Ranch, Colorado, Purchase tied for third with five stops in the loss to the Gators. He leads the defensive front in tackles with 16 and leads the team in tackles for loss (3.5) and sacks (1.5). He has been part of a rotation at defensive end as Golding attempts to find the right recipe and create depth at the position.
I asked Purchase what makes a good tackler.
“I think it starts with effort and want-to,” he said. “But the rest of it is learning technique and angles and knowing when to wrap and roll a guy.
“I think I’ve done all right in the first four games. I went back during the open week and watched all of my plays. I do want to get better in the run game play in and play out.”
In Golding’s scheme, defensive ends are required to do more than contain.
“I would say we do everything you can imagine in our scheme,” he said. “We drop to (defend ) the curl, flat or hook (pass routes). We set the edge. And sometimes we crash all the way inside to the B gap (between the guard and tackle).
“I’m dropping into coverage a lot less than I did at Oregon. It’s a lot more setting the edge. I like it.”
As for the Florida debacle and the 52 points and 498 yards surrendered, Purchase said: “After watching the tape, I thought we played cautious at times. And there is a fine line between not wanting to make a mistake and just playing free. Being physical and striking the block is what we’re focused on right now.
“It seems like a long time since we’ve played a game. We’re all super anxious to get back on the field. But I definitely think the bye week came at a good time. It gave us a chance to look at ourselves over the first four weeks of the season, analyze ourselves and get better.”
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While Ole Miss was enjoying its run through the playoffs in late December and early January, so was Oregon. And just like the Rebels, the Ducks’ season ended in the semifinal round, one day apart. Ole Miss and Oregon finished 13-2. Both of Oregon’s losses were to eventual champion Indiana.
Purchase had already made up his mind to enter the portal at season’s end.
“Things really got hectic,” he said. “I had no clue what I was going to do. I got a lot of phone calls, but I got in touch with Ole Miss. They were my first visit and once I got here I didn’t visit anywhere else.
“I liked the scheme and how they use their ends. And Oxford is a small town, not much going on and I wanted to go somewhere I could really focus.”
He also preferred the shorter SEC road trips compared to the Big Ten’s.
“Traveling was really hard,” Purchase said. “We would have to leave for a lot of road games a day earlier than usual. I remember we went to Rutgers in New Jersey and that was a five-hour flight. It definitely took a toll on you, having to fly back to Oregon right after the games.”
Purchase was a four-star prospect out of high school, where he helped lead his teams to four straight state championships. He was named Colorado’s Gatorade Player of the Year his senior season, and one recruiting service rated him among the top 50 prospects in the 2023 class.
His high school stats: 158 tackles, 31 sacks, 33 tackles for loss, three interceptions and 16 pass break ups.
He chose Oregon over Notre Dame, Washington, Colorado and Iowa State, where his older brother, Myles, played.
His dad, Brian, played basketball at Colorado. Myles, a defensive back, made the 2025 Los Angeles Chargers’ roster as an undrafted free agent.
“Both had a big influence on me,” Purchase said. “My dad was an athlete so he understood what it takes to succeed and how much work goes into it. We worked out all the time and that’s where I built my work ethic.
“And my brother gave me somebody to chase all my life. I was always trying to be as good as him. He was always the best player around and playing with him (in high school) was definitely fun.”
Though he grew up in Colorado, winter sports weren’t part of his life.
“I’d go up into the mountains sometime, but mostly I just hung out with my friends and played video games,” he said. “My parents didn’t let me do a lot of skiing or snowboarding. They didn’t want me to get hurt. I never got good at it.”
So he focused on football and discovered he loved it.
“It’s one of the few things you can do where every day there is going to be a competition going on. I love to show up and compete every day.
“Plus, I love having a hundred brothers on a team who you can call to get help with just about anything. That’s one of the things I love most.”
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