Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
Rebels positioned to face shootouts
Eleventh in a series previewing the 2018 SEC football season
ATLANTA — Ole Miss is likely to be one of the more exciting teams to watch in college football in 2018 — in the regular season.
A year after playing 10 games in which Ole Miss and its opponent scored at least 20 points — and three games in which both teams scored at least 30 — the Rebels are back with another rocking offense and questions on defense.
Ole Miss, which had hoped to have its self-imposed one-year bowl ban appease the NCAA Committee on Infractions, is appealing the two-year ban leveled by the committee in December. Barring a reversal this fall by the NCAA, wh ich charged the Rebels with lack of institutional control among other recruiting violations, second- year Coach Matt Luke, who had the interim tag removed after last year’s
6-6 run, will oversee a team that will wrap up its season on Thanksgiving in the annual Egg Bowl.
Luke said at SEC football media days that he’s seen the players grow closer through the adversity of the school’s lengthy NCAA investigation and its aftermath.
“I think we’ve moved out from underneath that cloud and we’ve continued to battle,” Luke said. “That’s why the end of last season was so important, to really build that momentum, to still be able to sign a top-25 recruiting class and go into the spring with a good taste in your mouth.”
The Rebels, rocked by the dismissal of coach Hugh Freeze last July, won their first two nonconference games, then endured a 1-5 stretch in which every opponent scored at least 35 points, including a 66-3 loss at Alabama.
Luke draws hope from the team’s 3-1 finish, which included victories at Kentucky and Mississippi State.
Ole Miss returns eight offensive starters and several key skill position guys on a unit that ranked No. 18 in total offense (462 yards per game), No. 11 in passing (328) and No. 8 in pass efficiency under first-year coordinator Phil Longo.
The Rebels transitioned well at quarterback after Shea Patterson’s knee injury late in the year, with Jordan Ta’amu finishing strong and emerging as the starter. Patterson has since transferred to Michigan, where he’s the projected starter for Coach Jim Harbaugh.
Ta’amu led scoring drives on his first six possessions, one at the end of a 40-24 loss to LSU and his first five against the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville as the Rebels built a 31-7 lead in a game they would lose 38-37.
“When Shea got hurt, I knew I was the guy,” Ta’amu said. “It hit me in the Arkansas game. Just going in there, first snap of the game, I’m like, ‘Wow, this is unbelievable. I can’t believe this is happening.’ I dreamed of this when I was a kid, and I finally get the opportunity, and I’m going to make the most out of it.”
Ta’amu, a native of Hawaii, passed for 1,682 yards, completing 66.5 percent of his passes, and throwing for 11 touchdowns and 4 interceptions.
“Seeing his first start, how confident and how composed he was, it reflected on the entire offense,” center Sean Rawlings said. “Then you saw the offense start clicking, and then as we progressed toward the end of the season, it was a progression [for Ta’amu] every week.
“It’s obvious. It’s just that selfless confidence, quiet confidence, composure that allows the offense to be successful.”
Ta’amu will have one of the best set of wideouts in the SEC to work with, starting with preseason first-team All-SEC choice A.J. Brown, who had 75 catches for 1,252 yards and 11 touchdowns last year.
DaMarkus Lodge ( 41 catches, 698 yards, 7 TDs)
and D.K. Metcalf (39-646, 7) also return.
Who will run the ball is a bigger question for a unit that ranked No. 103 in rushing (133.9) a year ago. The Rebels are pinning their hopes on junior-college transfer Scottie Phillips, with big back Eric Swinney and undersized freshman Isaiah Woullard also in the rotation. D’Vaughn Pennamon, who suffered a severe knee injury Nov. 18 against Texas A&M, likely would have taken the top role after the departure of Jordan Wilkins, but he is not expected back until late in the year.
Ole Miss has a solid offensive line, led by All-SEC performer Greg Little, Rawlings and Javon Patterson.
The defense, coordinated by Wesley McGriff, has work to do after ranking No. 123 in run defense by allowing 245.3 yards per game and giving up 34.6 points per game.
“I think the question everybody is asking me is, ‘Hey, Coach, how are you going to stop the run?’ ” Luke said. “We have to find creative ways to load the box and make people throw it over the top to beat us. That will obviously be a point of emphasis for us.”
Ole Miss has a few quality defensive players to build around, starting with tackle Benito Jones, a former five-star signee who played through a neck injury last season; tackle Josiah Coatney; and defensive end Ryder Anderson.
Defensive back Ken Webster is expected to return to form as a potential NFL prospect after injuries slowed him down last year, while linebacker Josh Clarke and hybrid linebacker/safety Zedrick Woods project as starters.
“I feel really good about our secondary,” Luke said. “We’re talented and experienced there. The interior of our defensive line is returning. You’ll see Josiah along with Benito. I feel really good about that.”
Luke believes the Rebels will carry the finish of 2017 into the season, even if there’s no bowl prospect at the end of the tunnel.
“I felt like last year had a lot of positive momentum to finish the season, winning three of the last four games,” he said. “I felt like that really springboarded us into a top25 recruiting class. I thought we had a superproductive spring, and were able to work on a lot of things we needed to improve on.”