Ole Miss Football: 3 Things Rebels must fix before 2019
By Shelbie Warr
1. Replacing AJ Brown, DK Metcalf and Jordan Ta’amu will be a big task
So much of the Ole Miss offensive production is heading to the NFL Draft in 2019. DK Metcalf is heading to the NFL Draft after an injury ended his season early. He is a projected second rounder. This kid forgoing his senior season is a big time hit to the Ole Miss offense. With his declaration and his counterpart AJ Brown declaring just a week later, the offense just gets thinner and thinner.
DK Metcalf finished his Ole Miss career with 67 receptions for 1,228 yards and 14 touchdowns. His counterpart AJ Brown finished 218 receptions for 2,984 yards and 19 touchdowns. Those two provided much of the offense for Ole Miss.
Quarterback Jordan Ta’amu is graduating, so the Rebels will also need a new signal caller. The JUCO transfer had two strong years for Ole Miss, finishing with 5,600 passing yards and 30 touchdowns to 12 interceptions. He added 10 more touchdowns on the ground through his two years as the starter for the Rebels.
Next. Mock Draft: How high will Kyler Murray climb in first round?. dark
It helps that Ole Miss head coach Matt Luke just hired a new offensive coordinator in Rich Rodriguez, who was formerly the head coach at West Virginia, Michigan and Arizona. He’ll be tasked with figuring out this offense without three of it’s best players. If he can’t keep it rolling, Ole Miss will be in trouble.