Bio Blast: Ole Miss Rebels

Kentucky got back in the win column in Week 4 thanks to a dismantling of Ohio. The Wildcats were sharp in all three phases and left little doubt on the field creating seven scoring opportunities in nine possessions and allowing only 113 non-sack rushing yards to an offense averaging north of 200 rushing yards per game.

The Wildcats did what they were supposed to do as a three-touchdown favorite. Now a new challenge arises where Kentucky will be a three-possession underdog in the first road game of the season.

Ole Miss has played a very soft schedule to this point but Lane Kiffin‘s squad is steamrolling teams on both sides of the football. The Rebels appear to be top-five good on offense and potentially top-10 good on defense. This SEC program entered the season with College Football Playoff expectations and those expectations have only grown through 16 quarters of football.

KSR’s Bio Blast is taking a closer look at Kiffin’s fifth team in Oxford.

Bonafide Heisman Trophy candidate at quarterback

Former USC transfer Jaxson Dart beat out current Illinois quarterback Luke Altmyer for the starting QB job at Ole Miss in 2022 after the two had a battle that lasted into the season. Dart helped lead the Rebels to an 8-1 start that season as the quarterback threw for 2,974 yards on 8.2 yards per attempt with 699 non-sack rushing yards and 21 total touchdowns. Those numbers improved as a junior when Dart helped lead the Rebels to an 11-2 finish with 3,364 passing yards on 9.4 yards per attempt with 568 non-sack rushing yards and 31 total touchdowns.

Dart is currently on pace to finish the regular season with 4,662 passing yards on 13.1 yards per attempt with 345 non-sack rushing yards and 45 total touchdowns. Ole Miss and the former blue-chip quarterback have been building to this moment and the results have been superb.

The Utah native has completed at least 70 percent of his passes and thrown for at least 377 yards in each game this season. In the last two games against Wake Forest and Georgia Southern, Dart has rushed for 76 yards on 11 carries proving that his legs can still hurt defenses. The big season is leading to big opportunities for other players as former Louisiana Tech transfer Tre Harris ranks No. 2 nationally in receiving yards (628) with an outstanding 37 percent explosive play rate on 46 targets.

Ole Miss has gone all-in on this season and Dart is a major reason why.

Impact transfer portal additions on defense

Ole Miss has very much turned into a transfer portal program under Lane Kiffin. The Rebels typically load up on multi-year transfers and have had success developing that way. Jaxson Dart, Tre Harris, Jordan Watkins (WR, Louisville), Jared Ivey (EDGE, Georgia Tech), JJ Pegues (DT, Auburn), Khari Coleman (LB, TCU), and John Saunders (DB, Miami Ohio) are all players who have spent multiple seasons in Oxford and have found success.

However, the Rebels decided to turn up the heat this offseason and take a big swing. The program added multiple potential one-and-done transfers and has gotten some big-time play on defense from the new additions.

Trey Amos (Cornerback): After beginning his career at Louisiana, Amos landed at Alabama last year and was a rotational cornerback for the Crimson Tide. The super senior leads the Ole Miss defense in snaps (219) through four games with 16 tackles, two tackles for loss, two pass breakups, and one interception. Amos has seen heavy volume (23 targets) but has held up so far.

Walter Nolen (Defensive Tackle): The former five-star recruit entered college football with high expectations and is now beginning to live up to those in year three. Nolen began his career at Texas A&M before transferring to Ole Miss in the offseason. The 305-pound defensive tackle has recorded 10 pressures through two games and has been outstanding against the run. An argument can be made that Nolen is the best defensive player in Oxford.

Chris Paul Jr. (Linebacker): The Arkansas transfer recorded 136 tackles, 14.5 tackles for loss, and six sacks over the last two seasons in the SEC. That production has translated to Ole Miss. The South Georgia native has recorded 29 tackles, six tackles for loss, two sacks, two pass breakups, and 13 pressures through four games. Paul is playing at a first-team All-SEC level.

Princely Umanmielen (EDGE): The Florida transfer produced 45 pressures last season emerging as one of the top pass rushers in college football. Umanmielen has continued to win as an edge rusher at Ole Miss recording 16 pressures this season. The 255-pound defensive end is an NFL player.

Ole Miss is getting impact performers from its transfer class on defense helping raise the ceiling in a big way on this side of the football. The Rebels are an outstanding pass-rushing team that has consistently gotten offenses behind the chains.

How good is the offensive line?

The Ole Miss offensive line entered the season as one of the big question marks on this football team. Through four games, it has looked like the weakest unit for the Rebels on offense but that might not be a bad thing. With SEC play getting ramped up, we will learn much more about this unit.

Washington transfers Nate Kalepo and Julius Buelow have taken over at guard. North Carolina transfer Diego Pounds is starting at left tackle. Starting guard Jeremy James suffered a hand injury in Week 1 and has not played since. Multi-year starter Caleb Warren has not played yet due to an unspecified injury. Gerquan Scott was expected to play a big role at center or guard but has only played in one game.

Ole Miss is short-handed and we should find out more about this unit’s injury situation when the first availability report is released on Wednesday night. With multiple interior starters missing, there is a chance this group struggles to block when SEC play starts. If there is an advantage to be found for defenses when facing this Ole Miss offense, it will likely be found at the line of scrimmage.