Ole Miss' veteran offensive line set to be the anchor of a new-look offense
When looking at Ole Miss football’s offense on paper there are plenty of things to get excited about. With all of the fresh faces sprinkled throughout the offense, its success is going to hinge on an offensive line that is the most experienced group on that side of the ball.
There is a plethora of talent, or potential talent, within the offense from transfers Jaxson Dart, Micheal Trigg, Zach Evans, Jordan Watkins and others. But with just a few weeks of spring practices under their belts it is going to take some time to gel and mesh with returning offensive players, starting at fall camp.
Enter the offensive line that returns nearly all of the starters from a season ago along with other players who saw valuable snaps off the bench.
Nick Broeker, Jeremy James, Caleb Warren, Eli Acker and Mason Brooks look primed to be a dominant offensive front in the Southeastern Conference this season. Broeker himself stated in the spring that a goal is to win the Joe Moore Award, honoring the top offensive line in the country.
“I think our guys had a really good spring up front,” said head coach Lane Kiffin. “Nick Broeker has obviously been a great leader and Eli Acker has stepped up. We’re excited to add Mason to that group and just see if we can improve.”
While there is experience upfront some of the key pieces have shifted around and find themselves in new roles.
Maybe one of the biggest moves is Broeker shifting from tackle to guard. Broeker was asked to make the move inside to get some versatility on his game film. Another reason was due to the “crazy” feedback Broeker received from NFL evaluators that led to his decision to return to Ole Miss.
Once Broeker moved it caused the second domino to fall which was James shifting to left tackle. The next domino resulted in Ole Miss going into the portal and finding Brooks, who transferred in from Western Kentucky.
Brooks was a mid-year enrollee and got to campus back January and in time to participate in the spring drills.
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“(Brooks) has been really good for us on the field and in the locker room,” Broeker said. “He’s done a great job. He’s fit in really well on and off the field. He’s someone we hang out with all the time and he’s obviously a really good players. So he kind of filled a void on the offensive line. He’s a really big addition.”
Acker, the youngest of the offensive front, is entering his redshirt sophomore season but contributed greatly in 2021. He played in nine games last season after playing in only one during the 2020 season before getting the redshirt.
“The O-line is definitely a very veteran group,” Broeker said. “Makes life a lot easier for the rest of us knowing that we have guys who have played a lot and we’ve played a lot together, too, so that makes it a lot easier for us.”
The depth of Ole Miss’ offensive line is encouraging heading into the season as well. Redshirt freshmen Jayden Williams and Micah Pettus had impressive springs and will be backing up James and Brooks, respectively.
Ole Miss’ offensive line depth took a slight hit this summer when Jordan Rhodes entered the transfer portal. Rhodes played in 12 games last season after transferring in from South Carolina last July.
