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Ole Miss Football: Will the landsharks return in 2016?

By Hunter Kinniburgh

Jan 1, 2016; New Orleans, LA, USA; Mississippi Rebels linebacker C.J. Johnson (10) celebrates a sack of Oklahoma State Cowboys quarterback Mason Rudolph (not pictured) in the third quarter of the 2016 Sugar Bowl at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome. Mandatory Credit: Chuck Cook-USA TODAY Sports
Jan 1, 2016; New Orleans, LA, USA; Mississippi Rebels linebacker C.J. Johnson (10) celebrates a sack of Oklahoma State Cowboys quarterback Mason Rudolph (not pictured) in the third quarter of the 2016 Sugar Bowl at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome. Mandatory Credit: Chuck Cook-USA TODAY Sports /
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Ole Miss football’s “Landshark” Defense suffered a bit of a decline in production last season, mostly due to injuries and younger players. With the departure of many key players, how will the defense stack up in 2016?

Robert Nkemdiche, Mike Hilton, Channing Ward, C.J. Johnson and Trae Elston. All a mainstay of the Ole Miss defense for the last 3 to 5 years. All now gone, either by having graduated or leaving early for the NFL – which would probably leave most to wonder just where does that leave the Ole Miss defense entering 2016?

Actually, the defense is set up to do quite nicely.

While Ole Miss does lose some star talent, it also has had a lot of talent waiting in the wings, particularly on the defensive line. Sophomore Breeland Speaks showed quite a bit of star talent last year in games where he was spelling Robert Nkemdiche orbit out right taking over the position while he was out for injury or the suspension in the Sugar Bowl.

Speaks has a knack of getting through the line much like Nkemdiche, but finishes the play as to where Nkemdiche was less prone to do. Also along the defensive line, the Rebels return star defensive end, Marquis Haynes, who will look to lead the SEC in sacks in his senior year.

The defensive line also returns John Youngblood and Fadol Brown. 5th year senior Issac Gross will also be returning from a neck injury he suffered early last season. Expect Gross to make an immediate impact with his quickness off the line.

That line will also get help from some incoming freshman in Rebels’ 2016 signing class. Freshman Benito Jones, a 5-star prospect according to 247 Sports, enrolled at Ole Miss last spring and went through spring practices. He’ll be counted on to add some immediate depth to the position in Chris Kiffin’s defensive line rotation.

The most glaring, on paper, weakness of the Rebel defense is at linebacker. Ole Miss really only returns one quality starter, DeMarquis Gates, who led the team in tackles last season with 76 after filling in for an injured Denzel Nkemdiche.

After Gates, one would expect the other starter to be graduate transfer Rommel Mageo from Oregon State. Mageo decided to transfer to Ole Miss after leading OSU with 87 tackles. While this position group will be thin, it certainly has the talent to be productive, granted everyone stays healthy.

The secondary could possibly be the strength of the Ole Miss defense in 2016. Starting Safety, Tony Conner would have been a first round NFL draft pick if not for a right knee injury that hampered him in 2015 and eventually caused him to miss most of the season.

Conner should be ready to roll in the fall and will bring instant talent back to the secondary. Joining him at the other safety position will be C.J. Hampton, a once highly touted recruit who is looking to put it all together in his junior season and be a force in the Ole Miss secondary.

Freshman Safety Deontay Anderson will most likely receive plenty of playing time this fall, not only due to his talent level but also due to the thin numbers at the safety positions.

Cornerback was an off again on again position in 2016, expect it to be much more consistent now that Kendarius Webster and Tony Bridges have had a complete season of work under their belts. Both are ball Hawks who are 5′ 11″ or taller and have great speed to keep up with faster receivers.

Next: Predicting 2016's Worst Team in Every Conference

While the Ole Miss defense loses a lot, it still has plenty of current talent and up and coming talent to be able to make plenty of plays and get the ball back for Chad Kelly and the Ole Miss offense in 2016. A return to the style of play of the 2014 defense is not that much of a dream but more of a reality.

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