The 2017 campaign treated Ole Miss football pretty well, including a six win season and a win over in-state rival Mississippi State to cap things off.
Ole Miss football went through its first season with head coach Matt Luke at the helm in Oxford. After signing on to being the full-time head coach with the Rebels immediately following the regular season, Luke is now the guy for Ole Miss.
It was an up and down season, to say the least, for the Rebels in 2017. Star sophomore quarterback Shea Patterson got the Ole Miss offense off to a fast start this year, but started to tail off at the start of SEC play. A season-ending injury to Patterson against the LSU Tigers would then put JUCO transfer quarterback Jordan Ta’amu in the spotlight.
Ole Miss also sported a very young team in 2017. With the sanctions that came down following the regular season, limiting scholarships and extending the postseason ban for the Rebels, it put the rebuilding phase timeline much longer than originally hoped for by Ole Miss fans.
The Rebels finished the regular season with a record of 6-6 (3-5 SEC). Ole Miss actually was not the last place team in the SEC West in 2017. The Arkansas Razorbacks finished in the basement in the SEC West, and posted the second worst record in the conference altogether, only ahead of the Tennessee Volunteers. Arkansas and Tennessee both fired its head coaches in 2017.
All things considered, it was a relatively positive season for this program. There’s something to build off of, despite the transfers of players like Patterson and wide receiver Van Jefferson.
Here’s the 5 takeaways from the 2017 campaign for the Ole Miss Rebels.
5. The spotlight is fully on Jordan Ta’amu
Not only did the season-ending knee injury to Patterson throw Ta’amu into the fire, but a transfer will now keep him in the spotlight. Patterson announced his transfer to join the Michigan Wolverines this month, which was not too surprising.
Ta’amu performed well in Patterson’s absence. He tossed 11 touchdowns and only four interceptions, while posting a higher quarterback rating and completion percentage than Patterson. The stat line was something to marvel at considering the situation Ta’amu was thrown into.
Moreover, Ta’amu is a better rusher than Patterson was. In limited action, Ta’amu got in the end zone with his legs four times. He gives the Ole Miss offense a versatile aspect that it did not have under the direction of Patterson.
It’ll be much needed for the Rebels to have a quarterback that can defeat opponents in multiple ways with the departure of star senior running back Jordan Wilkins. Ole Miss’s weapons are going to be limited in 2017, but they have a promising option behind center in Ta’amu.
4. Jordan Wilkins finished his career in style
After getting suspended for the entire 2016 campaign due to academic ineligibility, Wilkins looked to respond in a big way this year. He did just that, with his first career 1,000 rushing yard season and 10 total touchdowns.
The next best running back for the Rebels was sophomore D’Vaughn Pennamon, who rushed for less than 250 yards on the season. Moreover, Pennamon also only has three career rushing touchdowns, but he should be the starter after Wilkins’ departure.
Once Ta’amu took over the offense, Wilkins was really able to take off. The dual threat ability of Ta’amu allowed for more running room for Wilkins. He had four games with at least 118 rushing yards while Patterson was not in the lineup.
Furthermore, five of Wilkins’ nine rushing touchdowns on the year came in those four outings where he rushed for at least 118 yards. His team around him just did not do enough for the Rebels to muster many wins at the end of the season. Yet, the Egg Bowl victory over the Mississippi State Bulldogs was huge for both Wilkins and the Rebels.
3. A.J. Brown is primed for massive college career
The best sophomore wide receiver in the nation, hands down, lined up for Ole Miss on offense in 2017. Star receiver A.J. Brown set a single-season receiving yards record for Ole Miss, with around 100 yards to spare.
Brown has the speed and athleticism to become the best receiver in the nation before his career in Oxford is all said and done. He led the team in receiving yards, catches, receiving touchdowns, and finished second in yards per catch.
Considering how good the Ole Miss receiving corps was in 2017, Brown’s stat line just looks that much better. He caught 75 passes for 1,252 yards and 11 touchdowns in 2017. And, Ole Miss was held out of postseason play. He’ll likely still finish in the top 10 in the country in receiving yards.
Brown is sure to be a name to watch for the Biletnikoff Award in 2018. With receivers like Oklahoma State’s James Washington, SMU’s Courtland Sutton, and Memphis’s Anthony Miller all making the jump to the NFL after the season is over, Brown could take a step into the national spotlight in 2018.
2. Marquis Haynes, Breeland Speaks highlight underrated defensive line
Not much attention was paid to the Ole Miss defense in 2017. They did have some trouble stopping SEC opponents this year. Giving up 66 points to the Alabama Crimson Tide was not the highlights of the Ole Miss football season in 2017.
However, there were also some very solid performances coming from the Rebels, holding opponents under 30 points and letting the offense really go to work. The defense really came up big in wins over Mississippi State and the Kentucky Wildcats.
Possibly the two best players for the Ole Miss defense this year were senior defensive end Marquis Haynes and junior defensive tackle Breeland Speaks. Ole Miss’s pass rush was very good with Haynes and Speaks combining for 14.5 sacks, as the team leaders in that stat category.
Sophomore defensive tackle Josiah Coatney could help Ole Miss form quite the duo in the middle of the defensive line alongside Speaks. If Speaks returns for his senior year in Oxford, that will bring back 10.0 sacks from the defensive tackle position alone.
1. Matt Luke holds the future of this program in his hands
Signing Luke to a full-time head coaching contract came as a shock to a lot of college football fans. Yet, what he was able to do with the Rebels this year proved how good of a coach he can be. Ole Miss also finished the year winning three of the final four games. The Rebels also nearly took down the Texas A&M Aggies.
Ole Miss signed Luke to a four-year contract, worth a minimum of $3 million each season. That $3 million figure will increase each year as well. By the stretch run of Luke’s contract, Ole Miss’s sanctions will be gone and he’ll have an opportunity to get them back into contention again.
It was not too long ago that Hugh Freeze had the Rebels contending among the best in the SEC and winning the Sugar Bowl. Yet, it’s going to take a lot to get the program back to that level. The rebuild starts with Luke continuing the momentum he built at the end of the regular season.
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He has the pieces in place, between talents like Ta’amu, Brown, and Speaks to get this program going in the right direction in 2018. No matter what happens to this team, it will ride on the shoulders of Luke as the tenured head coach.