Ole Miss football: Pieces are in place for Rebels to surprise in 2020

Expect more balanced attack under Lane Kiffin

Ole Miss had one of the nation’s best rushing attacks last season with Rich Rodriguez as the offensive coordinator, but the Rebels could not present a capable passing attack to make the offense even more dangerous.

Last year’s starting quarterback John Rhys Plumlee was one of the best rushing threats in the SEC and actually led the conference in rushing yards per game with 113.7 per game. He started eight games last season and struggled as a passer, throwing for just over 900 yards with four touchdowns and three interceptions and a 53 percent completion rate. Plumlee was the leading rusher on the team, totaling 1,023 yards and 12 touchdowns while averaging 6.6 yards per carry.

Plumlee will be the favorite, but expect him to be pushed by former five-star recruit Matt Corral, who is more of the traditional drop-back passer that Kiffin may prefer under center and while he only started four games, he led the team in passing. Expect to see both quarterbacks, as they are both talented with their respective skill sets and can play.

While Plumlee may have been the leading rusher for the team, that does not mean that the Rebels are without talented running backs. Jerrion Ealy burst onto the scene as a true freshman and ran for over 700 yards and six touchdowns while averaging nearly 7.0 yards per carry. He was joined by fellow freshman Snoop Conner last season and he earned over 500 yards and five touchdowns while averaging over 6.0 yards per carry.

The run game was the backbone of the Rebels’ offense last season and whether or not Plumlee is the starting quarterback, expect Kiffin to utilize the ground game a lot this fall.

The receiving corps for the Rebels is largely unproven as they only had one receiver go for 200 yards last fall and that was Elijah Moore who finished with 850 yards on 67 catches along with six touchdowns. Someone else is going to have to step up on the perimeter for Ole Miss because they will feature the passing game more often under Kiffin than they did under Rodriguez.

Braylon Sanders will be a senior and this could be the opportunity that he needs to have a breakout season. The Rebels will have to have some guys step up if the passing attack is going to make strides under Kiffin.

The offensive line will return three starters and will have some good experience to go along with some youth on the left side of the line. Eli Johnson and Royce Newman will be the veterans of the line as seniors and they will look to once again anchor one of the SEC’s best rushing attacks.