By Dale McKee
LPI Sports
The 2018 Ole Miss Rebels will be one of the most exciting teams to watch in the SEC this year.
Many thought the Rebels’ 2017 season was going to be disastrous after the July 20 resignation of head coach Hugh Freeze. The NCAA followed that misfortune by imposing a postseason bowl ban, and then the Rebels were hit by scholarship reductions by the NCAA (13 over four years). Things then got worse as the NCAA let transfers roam free.
Ole Miss, however, took a positive step days after the Egg Bowl victory over Mississippi State to right the ship when the school announced that Matt Luke would be named the team’s permanent coach.
Luke kept the Rebels together through a 1-5 stretch in 2017 in which every opponent scored at least 35 points.
Luke miraculously held the Rebels together as they won three of the last four games in November to end the season at 6-6. Road wins at Mississippi State and Kentucky highlighted the turnaround. “That’s why the end of the 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 season with a good taste in your mouth,” stated Luke.
The Rebels lost starting quarterback Shea Patterson to injury in a loss to LSU last year, which was a blessing in disguise. Junior college transfer Jordan Ta’amu took the reins of the offense and finished strong, which prompted Patterson to transfer to Michigan. Ta’amu, a native of Hawaii, passed for 1,682 yards, completing 66.5 percent of his passes and throwing for 11 touchdowns and four interceptions. Ta’amu will have the best set of wide outs in the SEC to work with in A.J. Brown, DeMarkus Lodge and D.K. Metcalf. Ole Miss is pinning their hopes on junior college transfer Scottie Phillips and freshman Isaiah Woullard to improve the ground game.
The offensive line is solid with Greg Little, Sean Rawlings and Javon Patterson leading the group. Tight ends Dawson Knox and Octavious Cooley should be a vital part of the offense.
Ole Miss has a couple of quality defensive players to build around in tackle Benito Jones, who played through a neck injury last season, and tackle Josiah Coatney. Ole Miss returns a solid defensive backfield, but the linebacker position is still an immediate area of concern.
The Rebels’ defensive issues are likely too much to overcome for them to challenge in the SEC West.
