OXFORD – After a two-and-a-half month hiatus, Ole Miss football is back. And, unlike last spring, there are more than a few questions which may or may not be answered in the coming weeks.

The Rebels began spring practice Tuesday. For the second year in a row, Ole Miss will not hold a spring game and will instead hold a Meet the Rebels Day for fans on April 12.

A year ago there were plenty of known quantities for Ole Miss, which ranked firmly inside nearly every preseason poll’s top 10 due to the return of stars like quarterback Jaxson Dart, receivers Tre Harris and Jordan Watkins and defensive linemen J.J. Pegues and Jared Ivey, plus the additions of star transfers like defensive linemen Walter Nolen, Princely Umanmielen, linebacker Chris “Pooh” Paul Jr. and cornerback Trey Amos. The Rebels finished 10-3 last season and ranked No. 11 in the final AP poll, the second straight season the program finished inside the top 12.

Those stars are all headed for the NFL, though, and the 2025-26 edition of the Rebels figures to look drastically different. With our first look at next year’s team coming up, here are three storylines to follow as the spring and summer unfold. Ole Miss begins its season against Georgia State on Aug. 30.

Is Simmons ready?

Moving on from the leading passer in program history isn’t an enviable spot to be in, but given the situation, the Rebels have to feel pretty good. Redshirt sophomore Austin Simmons was a highly touted high school recruit out of Florida who has shined in limited college action. He gave fans a taste of what his ceiling could be against Georgia in 2024, when he was forced into action for a possession following a brief injury to Dart and led a touchdown drive.

Dart attempted 1,307 passes in his four years at USC and Ole Miss; Simmons has just 32 attempts to his name. The Rebels have had potent offenses in five seasons under head coach Lane Kiffin, never averaging less than 33.5 points per game, and the quarterback has been a major component of that production. The Rebels had their worst rushing offense of Kiffin’s tenure last year, averaging 175.7 yards per game. Will Ole Miss let Simmons have the kind of control over the offense Dart had in his last two seasons? Or will the offense be predicated more on the running game like it was in 2022-23?

Speaking of that running game …

Ulysses Bentley IV and Henry Parrish Jr. were expected to carry much of the load on the ground last season following the transfer of Quinshon Judkins. As it turns out, Bentley was often a non-factor while Parrish was on his way toward a solid season before he suffered a season-ending leg injury against Arkansas. Parrish led the team with 678 yards; Dart was the team’s second-leading rusher with 495 yards.

The running back room isn’t the only one being overhauled on offense this offseason, as the wide receiver/tight end room loses Harris, Watkins, Antwane “Juice” Wells and Caden Prieskorn. The Rebels still have Cayden Lee (874 yards) and Dae’Quan Wright (394 yards), however, and added veteran pieces with substantial production at their previous schools last year – Harrison Wallace III had 720 receiving yards at Penn State, Deuce Alexander had 400 yards at Wake Forest, Traylon Ray had 426 yards at West Virginia, and De’Zhaun Stribling had 882 yards at Oklahoma State.

Ole Miss’ running back room, on the other hand, has some questions. Missouri transfer Kewan Lacy was highly touted out of high school but ran for just 104 yards as a freshman. Logan Diggs has 1,720 yards in his career but missed nearly all of last year with a knee injury. Akron transfer Jordon Simmons ran for 664 yards last season but had just 520 rushing yards over his first four seasons at Michigan State before that. And, of course, there is four-star signee Shekai Mills-Knight, who looks the part but is not on campus this spring.

The talent in the running back room is there. But how do all the pieces fit together?

How do you replace that D-line?

Ole Miss boasted arguably the best defensive line in the nation last year with Nolen, Umanmielen, Pegues and Ivey, each of whom should hear their names called in the upcoming NFL Draft. The Rebels notched a school-record 52 sacks – their average of four per game led the nation – led the country with 120 tackles-for-loss and ranked second nationally in rushing yards per game allowed. Ole Miss had the No. 2 scoring defense in college football last year, and the defensive front was a major reason why. Junior Suntarine Perkins, who had 10.5 sacks last season as a hybrid linebacker/defensive end, figures to be one of the SEC’s best players. But what does the front look like outside of him?

Senior Zxavian Harris (65 career tackles) returns, and the Rebels have stacked their recent recruiting classes with top-notch defensive line talent. Jamarious Brown, Kam Franklin, William Echoles, Jeffery Rush and Kamron Beavers were all four- or five-star recruits but are somewhat unproven in major action other than Brown, who was a freshman All-American with 20 tackles last year. Ole Miss restocked its defensive line room through the transfer portal as well, adding Umanmielen’s brother, Princewill, from Nebraska and Da’Shawn Womack from LSU.

Can that group collectively replace what last year’s star-studded defensive front achieved? Will the key to the defense once again be defensive pressure? Or does defensive coordinator Pete Golding’s philosophy change with the new faces?