Which Ole Miss freshmen can use 2022 as building blocks for strong sophomore seasons?

The 2022 football season was good to Ole Miss in one regard and that was seeing strong play from at least one, if not more, true freshmen and setting themselves up for a strong sophomore campaign this fall.

Of course the top name that comes to mind is Quinshon Judkins when thinking of immediate impact players as freshmen. Though Ole Miss had a handful of players that showed signs of a positive future in Oxford.

One side of the ball saw a good group of freshmen coming into their own throughout the 2022 campaign but opted to use the transfer portal and find new homes for 2023. Then there are those who are still wearing the red and blue and continuing their college career at Ole Miss.

How did all of those players do last season and what does it mean for the next step in their game’s development? Lets take a look.

Top Ole Miss freshman on offense

The offense, pertaining to underclassmen contributors, begins and ends with Quinshon Judkins.

Period. Point blank.

Now that we got that out of the way it is time to look at who else produced for the Ole Miss offense behind the 2022 Southeastern Conference rushing king.

There were not as many on offense as there were on defense, which was mighty young at times on the field, but the Rebels did have a few young guns.

Starting with receiver JJ Henry who did not have a lot of catches but when he did haul in a pass he made the most of it. Henry finished as the eighth best receiver for Ole Miss with five catches for 56 yards and had six carries for 30 yards.

With guys like Jonathan Mingo and Malik Heath along with Jordan Watkins and Dayton Wade it was hard for the younger guys to work their way into the mix and stay there, but Henry showed he is capable to be relied on come 2023.

Matt Jones was another notable freshman last season who appeared to be getting more reps in practices this past spring.

Similar to Henry it was tough for Jones to break through his respective depth chart with Judkins, Zach Evans and Ulysses Bentley in front of him. Though Jones only got three carries he did finish with a rushing touchdown — which was at the end of Ole Miss’ victory over Vanderbilt that appeared to ruffle feathers.

Jones has the chance to earn a slot as the No. 3 running back though incoming freshman Kedrick Reescano will probably have a say in that, depending how his first fall camp goes.

The sophomore seasons of Judkins, Henry and Jones will have a lot of eyes on them as how their next step in developing their games could go a long way in how the entire Ole Miss offense succeeds.

Top freshman on the Rebels defense

A few months back this would have been a very upbeat and easy portion of the story to write as there was a lot of be optimistic about when it pertained to freshmen on the Ole Miss defense heading into their sophomore seasons.

But some of the key contributors are no longer in Oxford, leaving the door open to other returning sophomores to maybe take over the open spots.

When looking at the top performers on defense among the Rebels underclassmen it started with David Igbinosun. The cornerback earned starter minutes quickly and overtook veteran Miles Battle in the first half of the season but as the weeks rolled on Igbinosun struggled more than he didn not as the competition got tougher. Battle ultimately returned as starter in the final month of the season and Igbinosun transferred to Ohio State.

Along the front line the anticipation of Tywone Malone to have a big 2023 was there, but the two-way player opted to leave the baseball team in the final stretch of the season and hit the transfer portal. Malone ultimately followed Igbinosun and is now a Buckeye.

So with the top two freshmen no longer here who were the freshmen behind them that Ole Miss will be leaning on this fall?

Just from a purely statistical standpoint it is linebacker Trip White who finished directly behind Malone in total tackles with eight. For comparison Malone had 10 tackles and Igbinosun finished with 37.

White is in a group that is need of building depth and quickly. The departure of Troy Brown who led Ole Miss in tackles with 93 is now trying his luck at the NFL ranks but head coach Lane Kiffin and new defensive coordinator Pete Golding have worked their magic to try and restock and re-load the room via the portal.

But White has the chance to be one of those players to help fill out that two-deep behind returners Ashanti Cistruck and Khari Coleman.

Another young linebacker that needs to have a big sophomore season is Tyler Banks. Last season Banks had four assisted tackles to his name but like White was behind a very set and concrete starting linebacker rotation.

In the Grove Bowl this past April Banks finished with 2.5 tackles but show some positive growth throughout the spring practices. Look for both Banks and White to make a move up the position chart come August.

With Malone gone the nose tackle position looks like it will be filled by Zxavian Harris. In his freshman campaign Harris had three tackles and played in 12 games last season. In the Grove Bowl Harris finished with three tackles and had half a tackle for a loss. Throughout spring practices Harris looked to be very much a part of Golding’s plans to overhaul the defensive line’s scheme that includes four players instead of three.

In the secondary there was another departure along with Igbinosun and that was Demarko Williams who transferred to Western Kentucky. This provides an opportunity for Jarell Stinson to take a step up in a position group that is in dire need of added depth.

Look for Taylor Groves and Nick Cull to try and improve their standing during their sophomore seasons as well. The trio of Stinson, Groves and Cull combined for one unassisted tackle and two assisted tackles. Their presence was not strongly felt last season but this fall could be the chance the trio of sophomores have been looking for.