OXFORD – Believe it or not, we’re only about a month away from Ole Miss taking the field for its season-opening tilt against Georgia State at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium.
The Rebels are coming off their third double-digit-win season in four years but will look far different than the group that throttled Duke by 32 points in the Gator Bowl. Ole Miss returns just four starters from last year’s team and loses eight players who were selected in the 2025 NFL Draft, including first-rounders Walter Nolen and Jaxson Dart. The Rebels have made a bowl game in each of head coach Lane Kiffin’s five seasons and won 29 games over the last three seasons.
Ole Miss begins fall practice this week. Here are three storylines to monitor as the preseason gets underway.
How does the offense differ without Dart?
Dart, a first-team All-SEC pick in 2024, led the nation in total offense (367.2 yards per game) and passing efficiency (180.7) and was third in passing yards (4,279). As a third-year starter, Dart was in complete command of Charlie Weis Jr.’s offense and was the No. 2 graded quarterback in the nation, according to Pro Football Focus. The Rebels’ struggles running the ball last season were well-documented, as their 175.7 rushing yards per game was the lowest in Kiffin’s tenure. Dart and a dynamic group of receivers were largely able to mask some of those deficiencies, and Ole Miss’ 38.6 points per game ranked third nationally despite not having a rusher with 700 yards.
Redshirt sophomore Austin Simmons takes over at quarterback this season, and while he has impressed in a small sample size – his nearly flawless touchdown drive against No. 3 Georgia last season was a highlight in a game that featured more than a few – he has thrown just 32 passes in his career and has five total rushing attempts. Nearly 67% of Ole Miss’ total yards per game last season came through the air. With a younger quarterback leading the offense and a revamped running back room headlined by senior returner Logan Diggs and transfers Kewan Lacy and Damien Taylor, do the Rebels lean more heavily on the run than they did a season ago? How much control of the offense will Simmons have from the get-go?
When Ole Miss was breaking Dart in as the starter in 2022, 48% of their total yardage came in the passing game. Is that closer to what we can expect in 2025?
Can Ole Miss replicate last year’s pass rush?
Ole Miss was second nationally in both scoring defense and rushing yards per game allowed, and a big reason for that was a defensive line that could go toe-to-toe with any in college football. The Rebels led the nation in sacks per game and tackles-for-loss behind Nolen, who was an All-American, and 10.5 sacks each from edge rushers Princely Umanmielen and Suntarine Perkins. Perkins, now a junior and the leading returning sacker in the SEC, is back, but Nolen, Umanmielen, JJ Pegues and Jared Ivey are all in the NFL.
The Rebels have built depth on the defensive front in their last few high school signing classes, racking up blue-chip talent like senior Zxavian Harris and sophomores Kam Franklin, Jamarious Brown and Will Echoles. The transfer portal was also once again used in rebuilding the defensive line, with LSU’s Da’Shawn Womack and Princewill Umanmielen – Princely’s younger brother – being two of the bigger additions.
Can the Rebels create the same sort of defensive pressure from a season ago with this younger, albeit talented, group? If not, can the rest of the defense pick up the slack? What is next in Perkins’ evolution, and how does he hold up as the team’s No. 1 pass rusher?
Who steps up in the secondary?
Trey Amos was one of the best cornerbacks in college football last season and was taken by the Washington Commanders in the second round of the NFL Draft. Safeties Trey Washington and John Saunders Jr. made 111 combined tackles and intercepted four passes total. Cornerbacks Isaiah Hamilton and Brandon Turnage started seven games combined in 2024. All are gone this fall, meaning a secondary that ranked 86th in yards per game allowed (230.8) a year ago is getting a makeover.
Transfer safeties Kapena Gushiken and Sage Ryan have plenty of experience from their times at Washington State and LSU, respectively, while former Arkansas cornerback Jaylon Braxton was part of the SEC’s All-Freshman team in 2023 but played in just two games a season ago. The Rebels added four cornerback transfers this offseason – Braxton, Antonio Kite, Tavoy Feagin and Ricky Fletcher – and return junior Cedrick Beavers, junior Chris Graves Jr. and redshirt freshman Pat Broomfield, among others. Who among the cornerbacks will step into a more prominent role?
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