Tony Conner has had a bit of a leash on him during Ole Miss camp.

If the opener against Florida State was today, the senior Huskie would come off the leash with a ferocious bite.

Conner, expected by many last season to be an early pick in the NFL Draft, saw his junior season cut to five games by a meniscus tear that eventually required surgery.

“I would say (I’m) 90 percent,” Conner said. “I’m good with it. If we had a game tomorrow, I’m willing to go.”

Conner played with a brace some last season and may have to some this season. He says he has embraced the brace if he has to use it.

Conner has been with the first-string defense all camp and will be a fourth-year starter at a position where the Rebels need his leadership. The secondary lost Mike Hilton and Trae Elston, who were the second- and third-leading tacklers on a defense that ranked next to last in the SEC against the pass.

Conner was a Second-Team All-SEC selection by the Associated Press in 2014, the year before his injury. Entering 2016, he was named preseason Second-Team All-SEC at media days in July, and he’s currently rated the No. 2 senior strong safety by NFLDraftScout.com despite missing the spring drills rehabbing.

“Sitting at home watching my brothers play, it hurt. It’s just a great feeling to be back out there with those guys right now,” he said.

Conner’s recovery is still a daily process but said he feels no pain in the repaired knee. He’ll lead a secondary that will be asking a lot of true freshmen Myles Hartsfield, Deontay Anderson and redshirt freshmen Montrell Custis and Armani Linton. It’s also a unit that has lost junior C.J. Moore to surgery to repair a torn pec muscle.

Tony Bridges and Kendarius Webster are senior and junior starters at corner, but junior C.J. Hampton, who came in as a four-star recruit, will be asked to do the most he has been asked to do. He started four games at free safety last season and was tied at No. 1 on the depth chart with sophomore Zedrick Woods. Woods may be the starter against Florida State. He started two games last season.

“I’m comfortable. I feel I’ve progressed,” Woods said. “(Hilton and Elston) were great tacklers. We have to step up as a unit. I honestly think we’re going to be the strongest group on the team.”

Linton has said there was an early focus on stripping and poking balls away. Limiting explosive plays is also on the agenda after allowing 25 plays of 25 yards or more and 75 plays of 15 yards or more last season. The Rebels ranked in the bottom three in the league in both categories.

Conner said the key to limiting big plays is being banged in their heads by coach Hugh Freeze.

“Communication, communication, communication,” Conner said. “When we go out there and talk, we do everything the right way then.”