If Ole Miss wants to win the SEC West for the first time ever three things must happen:
1) Chad Kelly, Ryan Buchanan or DeVante Kincade must develop into a reliable SEC-caliber quarterback by late September;
2) The offensive line must become better than decent; and
3) Hugh Freeze must finally find a punt returner who can field and return punts.
The other pieces are in place. The defense will be better than solid, maybe even one of the best in the country. The receiving corp is deeper than the Mighty Mississipp, and the running backs are good enough.
Quarterback likely won't be decided publicly until all three quarterbacks have seen some live game action against UT Martin. That position has been and will continue to be covered ad nauseum, so I'll go no further on that in this piece.
Look out for Tony Bridges, who averaged 14.6 yard yards a return in junior college, or freshman speedster Jalen Julius to get looks at punt returner. Fingers crossed one of those guys will finally give Ole Miss a few yards of better field position. It's been a while.
Quarterback and punt returner should eventually work themselves out.
That brings us to Ole Miss' biggest need - the offensive line. The Rebels have to develop a solid running game to win the West. A running game cures most ills. It takes pressure off the quarterback, keeps defenses honest, and runs the clock. Running wins championships. If Ole Miss wants to get one, the Rebels have to do better than 155 yards per game (10th in the SEC in 2014).
It all starts up front. That's why the coaching staff is working feverishly to develop new blood like Javon Patterson, Rod Taylor and Jordan Sims.
Obviously, Laremy Tunsil will hold down left tackle on his way to a huge NFL payday, and Fahn Cooper should stay at right tackle. It's the interior line where the really intense competition and the biggest needs are. Seniors Aaron Morris and Justin Bell are feeling heat from Patterson and Taylor. Morris and Bell have played a lot of snaps at great sacrifice in the red and blue, and there's no question they'll get their share of action in 2015, assuming Morris can stay healthy. But the success of the Ole Miss offense may really come down to the new guys.
The offensive line has to improve, and for that to happen Ole Miss needs more on the inside than it's been getting. That's why the development of Patterson and Taylor may in fact be the most important factor in winning the West on the entire squad.
The offensive line has to improve, and for that to happen Ole Miss needs more on the inside than it's been getting. That's why the development of Patterson and Taylor may in fact be the most important factor in winning the West on the entire squad.
The coaches are also looking hard at the center position where Ben Still is a returning starter to try to find the guy who will create movement inside.
Matt Luke just said that right now Rod Taylor is number one at right guard and Robert Conyers is number one at center. Hmmmmm……
— Chuck Rounsaville (@SpiritChuck) August 12, 2015
Inside rushing yards and a decent punt returner have evaded Hugh Freeze since he arrived at Ole Miss. Hopefully he finds both before the month of August is up.
UPDATE: This stat was buried in ESPN's Ole Miss Preview, only furthering my belief that Rod Taylor and Javon Patterson could be the key to the entire season: In 2014 the Rebels averaged 3.9 yards in SEC play and 2.7 yards per carry in their four losses.
UPDATE: This stat was buried in ESPN's Ole Miss Preview, only furthering my belief that Rod Taylor and Javon Patterson could be the key to the entire season: In 2014 the Rebels averaged 3.9 yards in SEC play and 2.7 yards per carry in their four losses.