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Ole Miss football could have nation’s most explosive offense in 2022

By Connor Muldowney

Sep 11, 2021; Oxford, Mississippi, USA; Mississippi Rebels wide receiver Jonathan Mingo (1) catches a pass for a touchdown against the Austin Peay Governors during the second quarter at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Petre Thomas-USA TODAY Sports
Sep 11, 2021; Oxford, Mississippi, USA; Mississippi Rebels wide receiver Jonathan Mingo (1) catches a pass for a touchdown against the Austin Peay Governors during the second quarter at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Petre Thomas-USA TODAY Sports /
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Ole Miss football is bringing in some elite talent on the offensive side of the ball to replace some key players. This offense will be scary.

A team losing a former blue-chip running back, a 1,000-yard receiver, and a Heisman candidate-caliber quarterback usually can be expected to take a step back on the offensive side of the ball.

Ole Miss football is not most teams.

Lane Kiffin, the self-proclaimed Portal King, lost some key players this offseason which helped make the offense potent last year, but he picked up some huge transfers.

Jaxson Dart is going to lead the way at quarterback after transferring in from USC, Zach Evans is a former five-star running back who averaged 7.0 yards per carry last year, JJ Pegues and Michael Trigg are top-tier athletic tight end options, and both Jordan Watkins and Malik Heath are going to boost the passing game as incoming receiver transfers with plenty of experience.

This offense is reloading at every possible position and while it was solid last year, it has much more potential to be great in 2022.

Losing Matt Corral is going to hurt because of how effective he was with both his arm and legs but Dart is a more than capable player. He wasn’t given a huge opportunity by USC, but he filled in while Kedon Slovis was hurt, passing for 1,353 yards and nine touchdowns with a 62 percent completion rate in six games. There’s a reason he was so highly-touted as a recruit.

Evans is going to put up big numbers in the backfield as he was once the most sought-after running back recruit and he put up over 1,000 total yards on more than 7.0 yards per carry in two seasons with TCU. He has superstar potential.

Trigg, Pegues, Heath, and Watkins are all solid targets for Dart in the passing game and they combine with Dannis Jackson, Jonathan Mingo, and Jalen Knox to create a top-tier corps.

Ole Miss averaged 492 yards and 34 points per game last season but I think that’s only going to improve in 2022 and the Rebels might own the SEC’s best offense.

dark. Next. Way-too-early Top 25 rankings projections for 2022

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