Fall camp is underway across the SEC, so it’s time to get some overreactions and observations in. Your team is healthy, the schedule is manageable, and the amount of hope floating around the program is absolutely off the charts. Still, every team has some questions.
Here are three burning questions for every SEC team. Next up, Ole Miss.
1. Who will be RB2 behind Kewan Lacy?
Lacy is the best running back in the country coming into the season. That statement feels even more legitimate with Missouri’s Ahmad Hardy coming into the season off an injury. Lacy was outstanding a season ago, and retaining him was one of the biggest wins for any team in the country. One thing that was unique about his season though was the workload. It’s not the first time we’ve seen Lane Kiffin give a back a boatload of carries in his offense, but Lacy’s 306 attempts led the nation and were the most in the SEC by a whopping 50 carries.
Pete Golding has stated that he wants to keep Lacy fresh this season and will give more carries to other backs. There are several to choose from. There are two transfers with Power Four experience in Makhi Frazier (Michigan State) and JT Lindsey (LSU). Someone to keep an eye on as well is Joshua Dye who put up video game numbers at FCS Southern Utah a season ago finishing the year with 1,676 yards and 27 touchdowns.
2. Who will earn the most production amongst the pass catchers?
Ole Miss lost five of their top six pass catchers from a season ago. Some were to graduation and some were transfers. I’m not here to judge, but leaving a place that has Trinidad Chambliss at quarterback is certainly a choice. There’s talent on the roster and multiple former five stars like Johnny Cook (Syracuse, Texas) and Caleb Odom (Alabama). Deuce Alexander is the only returning player who finished in the top six in receptions a season ago. He should have a monster season, but do not be surprised if either Odom or Cook make it hard for him to take a lionshare of the production this season. Both are extremely talented, and Odom is a matchup nightmare for his size.
3. How much will the tight end be used under John David Baker?
Last year Ole Miss tight end Dae’Quan Wright was incredible. He led the SEC in touchdowns (5), was second in receiving yards (635) and finished third in receptions with 39 amongst tight ends. The aforementioned Caleb Odom is technically listed as a tight end, but physically he’s so unique with his combination of size and speed, he can fit into a lot of roles as a receiver schematically. Last year he had just 19 catches for 197 yards and two touchdowns.
In the last two years of Kiffin’s offenses, the top two tight ends averaged 56 catches on the year. Those numbers were pretty similar for new offensive coordinator John David Baker last year when he was at East Carolina. His top two tight end targets finished with 51 combined catches. The season before that however, his top two targets combined for just 30, nearly half of what we’ve become accustomed to at Ole Miss. It will be interesting to see how he approaches spreading targets around in year one in Oxford.
Having a duo as talented as Odom and Luke Hasz should result in a ton of targets. It would be foolish not to.
