Making the Case for Ole Miss at SEC Media Days

Will Ole Miss be a gathering of Portal mercenaries or function as a winning football team in 2022? We’ll get to that in a minute. But first, welcome back from Atlanta. I’ll be here all week thanks to our good friends at Morgan & Morgan. For over thirty years, Morgan & Morgan has helped hundreds of thousands of deserving clients recover over 13 billion dollars. Wow. That’s a lot of money. Did you know that on average, people who hire an attorney after a crash recover 3X times more than those who don’t? That’s a huge difference. For a free consultation, call DIAL POUND (#) LAW – That’s POUND L-A-W or 5-2-9 on your cell phone — 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Now, let’s talk about how Ole Miss plays the football game.  

Confession time, I really enjoyed Lane Kiffin’s press conference. He was honest, funny, forthright, and refreshing. I also greatly respect his ability to call football plays. Like it or not, the personality enriched head coach being back in the SEC is a good thing for the league. Kiffin seems to have fun and is not shy from jumping on social media to promote the “Sip” and to take an occasional shot at rivals. His rapid fire offensive tempo is the league’s trendy system and is a perfect fit for a program like Ole Miss who struggles to keep up in the 5-star fest that dominates the conference’s upper-echelon. 

Case For

First thing first, Ole Miss will have a chance to be good solely based on Kiffin’s ability to call plays. Led by preseason All-SEC candidates Nick Broeker and WKU transfer tackle Mason Brooks, a stout offensive line will ease the process of implanting a plethora of incoming transfers mainly at the skill positions. Quarterback Jaxson Dart came over from USC with hopes to replace Matt Corral. Dart shares many traits with Corral. He started six games and threw for 1,353-yards and nine touchdowns in 2021. The signal caller will compete for the starting job with Luke Altmyer who was Corral’s replacement in last year’s Sugar Bowl. 

Kiffin lost four running backs from last year’s squad but dipped into the Portal for immediate help. Zach Evans transferred from TCU after rushing for 1,063-yards and nine scores for the Frogs. He’s joined by SMU’s Ulysses Bentley IV who accumulated 1559-yards and 15 touchdowns in Dallas. Louisville’s Jordan Watkins, UCF’s Jaylon Robinson Jr., and Mississippi State’s Malik Heath add proven but new production at receiver. They’ll join veteran pass catcher Jonathan Mingo in the rotation. USC TE Michael Trigg brings a wealth of promise to Oxford. 

Ole Miss also hit the Portal on the defensive side of the football. All MAC linebacker Troy Brown came over from Central Michigan. Georgia Tech DE Jared Ivey and Auburn defensive tackle JJ Pegues also made the journey to join Kiffin. The secondary was bolstered by inking Iowa State’s Isheem Young and Auburn’s Ladarius Tennison. Linebacker Cedric Johnson is also a player to watch in 2022. 

Case Against

As stated above, most all of Ole Miss’s offensive skill players will be incoming transfers. While the quality of each is valued, the collective has yet to be seen together on the SEC playing fields. Kiffin’s system is heavily reliant on the QB position. So, the Rebels will thrive or struggle based on their new quarterback’s performance. That singular focus is precarious. 

Additionally, Ole Miss must replace both their offensive and defensive coordinators. OC Jeff Lebby is now at Oklahoma State. He is credited for leading a unit that averaged 34-points and a SEC-best 493-yards per game in 2021.  He was replaced by Charlie Weis Jr. Defensive coordinator D.J. Durkin departed for Texas A&M after improving the Rebel’s total defense by nearly one hundred yards per outing from 2020 to 2021. Both will be missed. With so much newness, this team is extremely hard to project. 

Verdict 

Ole Miss won ten games for the first time in program history a year ago. An influx of transfers could mean that the Rebels will be equally as talented as last season. A case could also be argued that it may take time for Kiffin’s squad to figure it out together. This team has a high ceiling but low floor with a great deal of emphasis based on the performance of quarterback Jaxson Dart or Luke Altmyer. This feels like a Boom or Bust season in Oxford. A quick glance at the schedule indicates a manageable road slate. The Rebels visit Georgia Tech, Vanderbilt, LSU, and Arkansas which means their most challenging conference games will be at home. I like the schedule, a lot. 

What Does All This Mean for Kentucky?

Ole Miss stole one from the Cats a couple years ago. Kentucky needs to return the favor in Oxford on October 1. UK’s crossover game will be a challenge. Coming out victorious would go a long way in making a statement across the Southeastern Conference. 

Lane Kiffin’s Best Quote

“Well, the first question is the keys to NIL and how do you well with that. You have really good boosters. That’s how you do well at it. I’ll say what other people say, as you know. It’s like a payroll in baseball.

“What teams win over a long period of time? Teams that have high payrolls and can play players a lot. We’re in a situation not any different than that. I’m sure other people said it. I said day one, you legalize cheating, so get ready for the people that have the most money to get players.

“Now you have it. It is what it is. As far as a general manager to manage that, we aren’t allowed in the current system to manage what they make. We’re not there yet. I don’t know that we ever will be. That’s just what I said it should be because that’s what any other professional sport, which is what we are now, does.”

Remember our friends at Morgan & Morgan. For a free consultation, call DIAL POUND (#) LAW – That’s POUND L-A-W or 5-2-9 on your cell phone — 24 hours a day, seven days a week.