As the beginning of Hugh Freeze’s second season as Ole Miss’ head coach quickly approaches, questions have risen about the tempo at which the Rebel offense will operate this year. The place that will impact that the most is the offensive line.
Freeze has said all along that the offensive line will be the last position in the offense to pick up on the tempo, and with a unit that returns four of five starters, they should take great strides into picking up the pace on a consistent basis.
Seniors Pierce Burton and Emmanuel McCray return at right and left tackle, respectively, after starting in all 13 games last year. Junior Aaron Morris started all 13 games at left guard and is considered the most talented player on the line. Senior center Evan Swindall started every game as well.
While it seems there won’t be much drama on the line in 2013, that is certainly not the case.
Ole Miss gave up 34 sacks last season, which was the fourth most in the Southeastern Conference. So although the Rebels return a strong core, they have to find a way to protect the quarterback better.
With incoming freshmen like Laremy Tunsil and Austin Golson looking for a spot to contribute immediately in addition to seniors Jared Duke, Patrick Junen and Derrick Wilson, juniors Darone Bailey and Chase Hughes, sophomores Justin Bell, Ethan Hutson and Ben Still and redshirt freshman Robert Conyers, there will be plenty of competition for not only the starting job at right guard but for every spot along the offensive line.
Tunsil was the No. 1 offensive tackle in the country by every major recruiting service, and Golson was rated as the No. 3 offensive tackle by ESPN.com. So both will have an opportunity to take over a starting spot midway through the year.
Daronte Bouldin and Davion Johnson are also incoming freshmen who will look to make an impact in their first year in Oxford.
Analysis
The overall level of talent at offensive line is not where it needs to be, but with the four talented incoming freshmen, Freeze is well on his way into building an SEC quality unit.
The first couple of weeks should bring some good competition as guys battle for the starting job at right guard, but the main thing that will come from fall camp is building depth at every position.
It’s hard to know how big of an impact Tunsil or Golson can make in year one, but midway through the year could give either guy enough time to work their way more into the mix.
I do think Tunsil will make a big impact this season and could even become a starter by season’s end. Both Bouldin and Johnson will be solid players eventually, but they need a year to redshirt for making a contribution. Golson is the guy that could go either way. If they feel good about the returning players, they could elect to redshirt him, but Golson will likely play a limited role to give a guy a break or as a result of injury. He will be a good one.
If I had to make a prediction for who starts the year at right guard, I’d go with Justin Bell simply because he seems to be the guy that has been slightly ahead of the rest this past spring. It should be a fun competition to follow.
Ole Miss is in OK shape, but no one will really know how much the line has improved until the season starts. The positive thing is they have several options if players don’t take steps forward.
The tempo should improve, but I don’t think it will be where Freeze wants it until they get a full unit full of the type of linemen that he wants. It will take a couple of years, but they are on their way.
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