Pete Golding's Ole Miss defense is expected to take the next step with a fresh infusion of talent, but who are some of the best offensive players they'll face this season?
Jared Redding
This year's Ole Miss Rebels are without question one of the more talented teams in the Southeastern Conference. That has been covered ad nauseam over the last six months and will likely continue to be a storyline for the foreseeable future.
Key production is back on both sides of the ball. The No. 1 ranked transfer portal class has made their way to campus, as well as one of the better high school/JUCO signing classes Ole Miss has had under Lane Kiffin. This group as a whole also has multiple players projected to be first or second round picks for next year's NFL Draft.
All of this said, the Rebels still play in the SEC, a conference that was already the toughest in college football and will be even tougher with Texas and Oklahoma officially under its banner. Despite being given what many believe to be a manageable 2024 schedule, it still has some of the best players in college football at their respective positions, particularly at Georgia and LSU. Those two games in particular are bar none the most important games Ole Miss will be in, should the Rebels be in the hunt for an SEC Championship and College Football Playoff.
Defensively, Pete Golding's first Ole Miss group made enough plays to give the program its first 11-win season. With a bolstered defensive line, a new-look secondary and key playmakers at linebacker, it's natural to expect Ole Miss to take a step forward in almost every way.
Without further ado, let's dive into some of the best five offensive players Ole Miss will face this coming season.
The Rebels will begin this heavily anticipated 2024 campaign on Aug. 31 inside Vaught-Hemingway Stadium against Furman. Kickoff is set for 6 p.m. CT and can be seen on SECN+/ESPN+ or listened to on the Ole Miss Radio Network.
Carson Beck — QB, Georgia
When it comes to SEC quarterbacks, four in particular are at the top of the conversation. Those being Jaxson Dart, Alabama's Jalen Milroe and Texas' Quinn Ewers. However, Georgia's Carson Beck has dominated almost every conversation.
Like Dart, Beck has also had a considerable amount of Heisman talk surrounding him. It's easy to see why.
Beck picked up right where Stetson Bennett left off, minus the national championship at season's end. In his first season as a starter, Beck went 13-1. He completed 72 percent of his passes for just shy of 4,000 yards and threw 24 touchdowns framed against six interceptions. He had one of his better outings against Ole Miss last season in Athens, throwing for over 300 with a 192.2 QBR.
Continuity will only help Beck again this season, with four of five lineman returning and more skill position talent surrounding him to pick up where Brock Bowers and Ladd McConkey left off.
As documented nearly 1,000-times before, Ole Miss is in the position it's in today, ironically, because of that Georgia matchup last season. They saw that 52-17 beatdown and took it as a challenge to get bigger, faster and stronger through the portal. This year's matchup will take place right around the time it did last season.
Will Campbell — OT, LSU
Although he's not a skill position player, won't run the ball, won't catch passes nor throw the ball, there's a reason why LSU offensive tackle Will Campbell is widely expected to be one of the first offensive lineman taken off the board in next year's NFL Draft.
Sure, he had a lot of talent to protect last season on offense, but a unit is only as strong as the line that holds the fort down. He stands at 6-6 and weighs 320 pounds. He makes the most of it too both in his ability to pass block and be a mower in the run game. He has an explosive first step that pro scouts have taken notice of too.
He will be the blindside blocker for new starting quarterback Garrett Nussmeier, who's also has some intrigue as well, but will be under a giant microscope trying to follow up Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback Jayden Daniels.
Despite Ole Miss having a very enviable group on the defensive line, it will be interesting to see how they matchup against LSU's offensive line as a whole. The Rebels will have to dictate and disrupt in oder to get that victory in Baton Rouge.
Barion Brown — WR/AP, Kentucky
Remember this guy? Ole Miss wanted Barion Brown coming out of high school a couple years back. When the Kentucky Wildcats traveled to Oxford in 2022, he showed everyone what Ole Miss could've had with his speed and excellent vision both as an offensive player and special teams weapon.
Kentucky shot itself in the foot repeatedly, and Ole Miss didn't play particularly great either, but Barion Brown near single-handedly put the Wildcats in position to win late. It didn't work, as Ole Miss ultimately prevailed 22-19. Still, Brown had three kick returns for 164 yards, that's 54 per return. And despite having just two catches offensively, he averaged 40 per reception.
He's had north of 2,000 all-purpose yards throughout his career, and that total will only grow this season.
Ole Miss plays Kentucky for the second time in three seasons. Ironically, this matchup will take place in the exact same stadium, at the same time of the day and the exact same slot on the game-by-game schedule. Kentucky's expectations will be nowhere near what they were two years ago (despite a disappointing finish), but Kentucky will not necessarily be a slouch this time around. Barion Brown will be one of the best special teams weapons in college football this season. Book it.
Kyren Lacy — WR, LSU
Kyren Lacy has been overshadowed by some ridiculous wide receiver talent over his four years ago LSU. Last season, he was overshadowed by not one, but two eventual NFL first round draft picks, Malik Nabers and Brian Thomas. With those two gone, expect a breakout season and expect him to be one of the toughest receiving matchups Ole Miss will face this coming season.
Because of the depth LSU previously had, he only had a modest 30 catches for 558 yards despite having seven touchdown catches (one of those coming against Ole Miss in Oxford). Do the math, that's 18.6 yards per catch.
He and tight end Mason Taylor will have to really help out their new starting quarterback, including the lineman Will Campbell that was previously highlighted. LSU's expectations are all over the place, but they are still one of the toughest challenges Ole Miss will have outside of Georgia and (maybe) Oklahoma. Ole Miss has a lot of new faces in its secondary, and time will tell how they matchup against Lacy.
Ole Miss faces LSU in Baton Rouge this season as mentioned before. Is this the year the Rebels finally leave with a W?
Trevor Etienne — RB, Georgia
Ole Miss has yet to face Georgia running back Trevor Etienne. The Rebels didn't face him last season in Athens because Etienne was at Florida.
While in Gainesville for two seasons, Etienne combined to carry the ball 249 times for 1,472 yards and ran for 14 touchdowns. He also has a pass-catching back as well, having hauled in 30 passes for 238 yards at Florida. He was considered one of Georgia's biggest gets on the offensive side of the football through the transfer portal.
He may not get as much preseason notoriety as some others around the country, but he's running behind an offensive line that returns four out of five starters and has enough of a supporting cast around him that could make him thrive in a pick-you-poison type scenario.
As documented nearly 1,000-times before, Ole Miss is in the position it's in today, ironically, because of that Georgia matchup last season. They saw that 52-17 beatdown and took it as a challenge to get bigger, faster and stronger through the portal. Ole Miss doesn't face the best running backs on its schedule this year, but Etienne and Florida's Montreal Johnson Jr. should make Ole Miss' 2024 defense definitely bring its "A" game.
