OXFORD — Two injuries in 2023 sent a mediocre Ole Miss football offensive line into meltdown mode
Micah Pettus, a tackle, couldn’t suit up for the final four games of the season. In a lopsided loss to Georgia after Pettus’ injury, Ole Miss allowed pressure on 38% of quarterback Jaxson Dart’s dropbacks – and Pettus’ backup, Jayden Williams, was also injured. The next week, a terrible ULM team bottled up the Ole Miss run game and held the Rebels to seven first-half points. Mississippi State limited Ole Miss to 17 points in the Egg Bowl, before the Rebels regrouped and handled a strong Penn State front seven in the Peach Bowl, despite a high-pressure rate.
All the while, Ole Miss shuffled its offensive linemen around, looking for a five-man unit that could hold its own. It proved elusive.
This year, coach Lane Kiffin hopes, will be different.That group in general has never looked like this, where you’re like, ‘OK, there’s competition at all five spots,’ ” Kiffin said Monday. “We’ve never had that, where it’s a really competitive competition of guys that probably can all play really well at this level. So, it’s really good to have.”
The Rebels infused arguably their weakest position in 2023 with four experienced transfers.
Diego Pounds, a strong performer at tackle for North Carolina last year, joined the group. So did Washington’s Julius Buelow and Nate Kalepo, fresh off appearances in the national title game. Southern Miss standout Gerquan Scott completed the quartet.