The University of Mississippi Athletics
Football Spring Outlook
2/25/2019 | Football
Rebels Return 71 Lettermen From 2018 Squad
| 2019 OLE MISS SPRING FOOTBALL - TEAM INFORMATION | |
| Basic Offense: Spread Lettermen Returning/Lost: 71/28 Offensive Lettermen Returning/Lost: 28/16 Defensive Lettermen Returning/Lost: 37/11 Specialists Lettermen Returning/Lost: 6/1 |
Basic Defense: Spread Starters Returning/Lost: 14/11 Offensive Starters Returning/Lost: 3/8 Defensive Starters Returning/Lost: 8/3 Specialists Starters Returning/Lost: 3/0 |
Matt Luke heads into his third year at the helm of the Ole Miss football program looking to ride the momentum of back-to-back top 25 recruiting classes and a change at the coordinator position on both sides of the ball.
After a 5-7 campaign in 2018, Luke found himself in the market for both an offensive and defensive coordinator; and he delivered in a big way.
Mike MacIntyre, a two-time national coach of the year and coaching veteran with nearly three decades of experience, will take over the reigns as the Rebels' defensive coordinator while Rich Rodriguez, considered one of the top offensive minds in college football, will serve as Ole Miss' offensive coordinator.
Ole Miss is the only team in the country to have three coaches with Power 5 head coaching experience.
Luke and the Rebels return a total of 71 lettermen and 11 position starters in 2019. A large portion of Ole Miss' experience is on the defensive side of the ball as the Rebels return 37 letterwinners and eight starters from the 2018 Landshark defense.
Nearly half of the returning Rebel defensive players, 19, have starting experience and should provide quality depth for MacIntyre as the Rebels transition to a 3-4 base defensive system.
Seniors Benito Jones and Josiah Coatney will help anchor the Rebel defensive line. Coatney finished third on the team in 2018 with 63 total tackles, while Jones was a load on the inside, recording nine tackles for loss and six quarterback hurries.
Linebacker Mohamed Sanogo returns for his junior campaign after leading Ole Miss in tackles last season with 112. Sanogo is one of only two Rebels over the last 12 years to record at least 100 tackles in a season.
The Rebels also return some key starters and additional depth in the secondary. Starters Vernon Dasher, Myles Hartsfield and Jalen Julius are all back for their senior seasons. Defensive back and return specialist Jaylon Jones will also return from injury to help add experience in the Rebel defensive secondary.
On the offensive side of the ball, Rodriguez and the Rebels will have some big shoes to fill with the loss of eight starters, including All-America performers A.J. Brown and Greg Little. After Jordan Ta'amu lit up the scoreboard in 2018, finishing fourth in the country in passing yards per game (326.5), the Rebels hope another first-year starter finds the same success. Redshirt freshman Matt Corral is back after appearing in four games last season. In a few spot appearances in 2018, Corral was 16-of-22 through the air for 239 yards and two TDs.
With the loss of Brown, as well as the departure of likely NFL Draft picks D.K. Metcalf and DaMarkus Lodge, the Nasty Wideouts (nWo) will look for some new faces to step in and take the belt. Sophomore Elijah Moore returns after appearing in all 12 games as a true freshman, hauling in 36 catches for 398 yards and two TDs. Braylon Sanders will be relied upon as the junior from Hogansville, Georgia, has the most experience of any Ole Miss wideout with 16 career games played.
While the Rebels look to replace starters at most offensive positions, the Ole Miss running back group should be a strong point of attack in 2019. Prior to dealing with an injury in the latter part of 2018, Scottie Phillips ranked in the top 10 nationally in nearly every rushing category and was on pace to challenge for the Ole Miss single-season rushing record. Despite playing sparingly over the final three contests, Phillips finished 2018 with 928 rushing yards and 12 touchdowns on the ground. His 14 total TDs ranked fifth in the SEC.
Ben Brown, a 2018 Freshman All-SEC selection, and Alex Givens both return to help anchor the Ole Miss offensive line.
The Rebels will have 12 mid-year enrollees participating in spring camp, the seventh-most amongst any team in the country.
Below is a position-by-position breakdown headed into spring drills.
Quarterback
• Ole Miss will look to replace Jordan Ta'amu, who ended 2018 with 3,918 passing yards – the second most in a single season in program history.
• Redshirt freshman Matt Corral should get the majority of snaps under center after appearing in four games as a true freshman in 2018.
• Kinkead Dent and Grant Tisdale are both mid-year enrollees and will join Corral in spring drills.
• John Rhys Plumlee is another signal-caller that will add depth when he joins the Rebels in the fall.
Running Backs
• The running backs should be a strong anchor for the offense with the return of Scottie Phillips, Isaiah Woullard and Tylan Knight.
• Phillips was on pace to shatter the 1,000-yard rushing mark last season, but finished with 928 yards and 12 TDs on the ground after battling through injury the final three games of 2018.
• Woullard ended the season with 510 all-purpose yards.
• Knight should see more time in the backfield in the spring after starting 2018 as running back, before converting to a defensive back when several players' seasons ended due to injury.
• D'Vaughn Pennamon returns after recovering from a 2017 injury and will see touches alongside mid-year enrollee Snoop Conner.
• Ole Miss signed five-star and Under Armour All-American running back Jerrion Ealy and he will bye for playing time in the fall.
Wide Receivers
• The Rebels will look to reload the slots following the loss of three likely NFL Draft picks and 2,766 receiving yards in A.J. Brown, DaMarkus Lodge and D.K. Metcalf.
• Sophomore Elijah Moore played in 12 games as a true freshman, recording 36 catches for 398 yards and two TDs.
• Braylon Sanders has 16 career games of experience at Ole Miss, including a breakout 133-yard performance against SIU in 2018.
• Redshirt freshmen Miles Battle and Demarcus Gregory should both see more time on the field as well after both redshirting last year.
• Dontario Drummond and Jadon Jackson are mid-year enrollees, while 2019 signee Jonathan Mingo will step on campus in the fall.
Tight Ends
• Ole Miss loses potential NFL Draft pick Dawson Knox, but returns six lettermen at the position.
• Senior Octavious Cooley has appeared in 26 career contests.
• Returners Gabe Angel, Alex Faniel and Jason Pellerin add depth to the position.
Offensive Line
• The Rebels lose a combined 127 starts from four valuable players on the offensive line that have been a staple for years, including All-America selection Greg Little.
• The Rebels return Ben Brown, who earned SEC All-Freshman honors in 2018, as well as senior Alex Givens.
• Brown finished 2018 with 12 starts at right guard and did not allow a single sack on 446 pass blocks, while Givens started every game at right tackle in 2018 and has appeared in 34 career contests.
• Royce Newman, Chandler Tuitt, Bryce Mathews, Eli Johnson, Hamilton Hall and Michael Howard will all push for spots on the o-line in the spring.
Defensive Tackles
• Veteran group that will be a major strength of the Rebel defense.
• The Rebels return two starters and multiple lettermen including Josiah Coatney, Sincere David and former Freshman All-American Benito Jones.
• Coatney was third on the team in 2018 with 63 tackles.
• Jones compiled three sacks and nine tackles for loss last season.
• LeDarrius Cox and Patrick Lucas are newcomers who will add depth come the fall.
Defensive Ends
• Five lettermen return including Ryder Anderson, Austrian Robinson and Tariqious Tisdale who all appeared in 11 or more games in 2018.
• Anderson started the final two games of the season and tallied 33 tackles on the year.
• Tisdale also recorded 33 tackles, including three TFLs.
• Brandon Mack is a newcomer who will join the Rebels in the fall.
Inside Linebackers
• The Rebels return both starting linebackers from 2018 in Mohamed Sanogo (112 tackles) and Willie Hibbler (50 tackles).
• Zikerrion Baker, Josh Clarke, Donta Evans and Jacquez Jones return from last year's team.
• Ashanti Cistrunk, Eric Jeffries, and Tavario Standifer are three newcomers that will help add depth and will participate in spring drills.
Outside Linebackers
• The swap to the 3-4 defense will push many former defensive ends to the OLB spot.
• Jonathan Hess, Luke Knox, Kevontae' Ruggs, Qaadir Sheppard, Charles Wiley and Brenden Williams will all enter spring practice as OLBs.
• Sheppard started 10 games at defensive end last season and recorded 48 tackles, including a team-high 10 tackles for loss.
Defensive Backs
• Ole Miss returns a veteran nucleus of starters including Myles Hartsfield (41 tackles, seven pass breakups), Vernon Dasher (36 tackles, four breakups, one INT) and Jalen Julius (34 tackles).
• Montrell Custis and Jaylon Jones, who both started games early in the 2018 season, return from injury and add to the veteran group.
• Sophomore Keidron Smith appeared in all 12 games as a true freshman, including four straight starts to close out the season.
• Jakorey Hawkins, Armanti Linton, C.J. Miller, Ty Rocconi and Kam White also return.
Specialists
• The Rebels return all three main components of their special teams: Luke Logan (K), Mac Brown (P) and Jack Propst (LS).
• Logan finished the 2018 season tied for second in school history with 22 field goals and second in points scored (111).
• Brown averaged 41.2 yards per punt including 13 punts downed inside the 20-yard line and six punts of 50 or more yards.
• Junior Jaylon Jones will compete for kick return duties again in 2019 after missing most of the season due to injury. Jones has two career kick return touchdowns.
Players Mentioned
