Three things to watch as Ole Miss football begins spring practices
OXFORD, Miss. — Ole Miss has officially started spring practices. The Rebels are picked by many to be a top five team in 2024 and projected to make the new 12-team college football playoffs. Here are three things to watch as we begin spring practices.
What is the current state of the running back room?
We all know that Quinshon Judkins is now an Ohio State Buckeye, but Ole Miss fortunately returns Ulysses Bentley IV and Kedrick Reescano and was able to add LSU’s primary running back, Logan Diggs, via the transfer portal.
Bentley has amassed 2,000 career rushing yards in his time with SMU and Ole Miss. At SMU, he rushed for 913 yards in 2020 and 610 yards in 2021. In 2023, Bentley was a key piece of the Ole Miss ground game, rushing for 540 yards and four TDs en route to a whopping 5.7 yards per carry average as his career yardage now sits at 2,172 rushing yards.
Averaged 5.7 yards per carry 📈@BentleyDoo | #StayInTheSip pic.twitter.com/P01Y70SP6n
— Ole Miss Football (@OleMissFB) January 8, 2024
At the same time, I am eager to see more of Kedrick Reescano, a sophomore out of New Caney, Texas. Reescano was a highly-coveted, four-star recruit coming out of high school last season. He saw action in 10 games last season, mostly on special teams, and is guaranteed to see a lot of action this spring, summer, and fall.
🦈🦈🦈 pic.twitter.com/XmA9OqooPv
— Katrell Josiah James Webb 🐃 (@KatrellWebb) October 1, 2023
On January 1 in the ReliaQuest Bowl game, LSU transfer Diggs was rumored to have torn his ACL, preventing him from participating in spring ball. Diggs also battled a shoulder injury at different points throughout the ‘23 season, so his status will be one to keep an eye on heading into the summer. Sources suggest he should be cleared to play this fall. One thing is for sure, Diggs’ athleticism is without question.
Logan Diggs is in the transfer portal.
Diggs once hurdled a man. pic.twitter.com/7UvM4iiqER— We Run the Sip (@OMRebelNation) January 5, 2024
With only three SEC starting-caliber running backs on the roster, I would not be shocked if Ole Miss head coach Lane Kiffin went out and got an additional backup to fully secure the run game for Ole Miss.
Who will start in the secondary?
Ole Miss lost five players from the secondary this offseason due to the transfer portal and NFL Draft, but they also received the commitments of three new safeties and three new cornerbacks from the transfer portal, alone.
Additionally, Pete Golding was able to retain everyday players like Chris Graves Jr., Trey Washington, and John Saunders Jr. from last year’s squad and they will provide skills and leadership on the field.
SEC Defensive Player of Week Trey Washington preparing for Rebels’ game against Alabama: ‘We show a lot of promise and potential but it’s time to execute.’ @MorethZach has more. ⤵️ https://t.co/n71eUe0i8U
— The Rebel Walk (@TheRebelWalk) September 18, 2023
Three transfers I would be on the lookout for immediately are Trey Amos (Alabama), Louis Moore (Indiana), and Yam Banks (South Alabama), but don’t be surprised if we see a continuous rotation between all of the players over spring practice and into the Grove Bowl.
For more on how Coach Kiffin and Coach Golding have reloaded the Rebels’ secondary, click HERE.
With QB Jaxson Dart actively recovering, who will take over the quarterback room?
Coach Kiffin confirmed in his press conference Wednesday that Jaxson Dart is actively recovering from an offseason procedure for a “lower body injury.” Although Jaxson is able to throw and participate in seven-on-seven drills, Kiffin said that his signal caller is still “very limited” in terms of his movement.
Throughout March and April, I would expect Walker Howard to jump into a greater role along with Austin Simmons, even though Simmons is pitching on the Rebel baseball team. Simmons participated in Wednesday’s spring football practice and then played later in the evening against Memphis, pitching one innings in the 5-3 win.
What can I say? Onto the next one. 🤷🏽♂️ #HottyToddy @OleMissBSB pic.twitter.com/LIutTb0PeF
— Austin Simmons (@austnsimmons) March 3, 2024
Kiffin spoke highly of both quarterbacks Wednesday, claiming they have done a “great job” up to this point. It should be intriguing to see who gets more of the spotlight with Jaxson not being fully mobile over the next one to two months.
What’s Next?
Ole Miss will practice once more before spring break (March 8–17) and resume drills on Tuesday, March 19. To find out the answers to these questions and more, be sure to stay updated with The Rebel Walk. Hotty Toddy!
