The Rebels have plenty of offensive firepower to go around. Expect these opposing defense players to get an extensive amount of attention in the film room come this season.
Jared Redding
Ole Miss has rightfully been synonymous with offense ever since Lane Kiffin took over the program. Although players like Matt Corral, Elijah Moore, Snoop Conner, Jonathan Mingo and more have came through, the 2024 offense could possibly be Ole Miss' best ever if all goes to plan.
It's really that simple. Heisman hopeful Jaxson Dart is entering his third season as a starter, one that has legitimate Heisman consideration in the mix based on numerous national analysts and betting odds. He wouldn't be in this position if he didn't have the guys around him. The weapons are plentiful. Tre Harris is back and healthy after a near 1,000-yard season, Jordan Watkins is a reliable third-year option, Caden Prieskorn enters the season healthy after a strong finish to last year, more reinforcements coming through the portal. Not to mention, Ole Miss has an offensive line that returns three-year starters and a ton of snaps between returners and transfers.
All that said, not a single game has been played yet. In Lane Kiffin's own words, it is rat poison.
Ole Miss' 2024 schedule has some of the best defensive players in it. It's up to Ole Miss to game plan around them and be a fundamentally sound scoring machine. Without further ado, let's dive into some of the best five players Ole Miss will face this coming season.
The Rebels will begin this heavily anticipated 2024 campaign on Aug. 31 inside Vaught-Hemingway Stadium against Furman. Kickoff is set for 6 p.m. CT and can be seen on SECN+/ESPN+ or listened to on the Ole Miss Radio Network.
Harold Perkins — LB/EDGE, LSU
Some would argue that the mishandling of Harold Perkins last season (playing in the box as opposed to on the edge) cost a lot of jobs on the LSU defensive staff last season. Whether that's true is up for debate, but one can't deny that LSU's defense was pretty rough a year ago. Ole Miss carved them up last season in Oxford.
That said, it's hard to deny that Perkins is not only the best defensive player on Ole Miss' schedule, but quite possibly the best defensive player in the entire conference. He's a unanimous projected first-round pick in next year's NFL Draft.Through two seasons, Perkins has racked up 146 tackles and 13 sacks.
As a true freshman in 2022, Perkins near single-handedly changed LSU's fortunes against Ole Miss down in Baton Rouge. After the Rebels went up 17-3 in the first half, Perkins earned much of the credit for shutting out Ole Miss in the second half and the Tigers winning the game.
WhetherLSU's defense gets better next season is to be determined, but there's definitely a bright spot and that's him. He'll be marked in red on the Ole Miss white board for sure.
Deone Walker — DL, Kentucky
Deone Walker is a big human being, but he moves very well for being 348 pounds. The interior defensive lineman for Kentucky showed some visible improvement between his first and second season in Lexington.
Like Harold Perkins over at LSU, Walker is a near consensus pick to be selected day one in the 2025 NFL Draft. He was not very effective in his first meeting with Ole Miss two years ago, but times have changed since then, despite some familiar faces on Ole Miss' offensive line.
Through two seasons at Kentucky, Walker has totaled 95 tackles and 8.5 sacks. All but one of those sacks came last season. Going into this season's matchup against Ole Miss, Caleb Warren will likely still be in the middle snapping the ball while blocking Walker, while Jeremy James will be used in the interior to try and contain Walker as well.
Malaki Starks — DB, Georgia
Ole Miss, as mentioned before, has pass-catching talent all over the place going into this season. It will be interesting to see who ultimately gets to matchup with Georgia junior defensive back Malaki Starks, who can also play in the back end too if needed. As a matter of fact, some are considering him a first round pick in next year's draft as just a safety.
One can expect Starks to be named Preseason All-SEC after SEC Media Day comes and goes. Last season, he was part of that loaded Georgia team and ended up totaling 52 tackles and three picks. In two seasons of college football, he's got about 120 stops with five picks and 14 pass deflections. His ability to use his hands in man-coverage is a treat to watch.
Georgia is loaded on both sides of the ball, again. Which Ole Miss receiver will Starks guard? How will they use him? That's a question for another time.
Mykel Williams — EDGE, Georgia
Williams didn't have the best numbers last season, with 4.5 sacks and 27 QB pressures, but on the eye-test he's one of the most gifted pass-rushers Georgia and some would even say that he's among the SEC's best edge rushers — and there's a ton of pass-rush/edge talent to go around in the conference.
The former five-star recruit provides some length on the edge that many tackles should have a problem with. He was part of a defensive line that stayed fresh throughout games due to so many bodies, but Williams is expected to be a centerpiece to what the Dawgs want to do up on the line of scrimmage.
Ole Miss must protect Jaxson Dart at all cost with this heavily anticipated showdown comes around. This one could decide a trip to Atlanta.
Landon Jackson — EDGE, Arkansas
Ole Miss has only faced Arkansas edge rusher Landon Jackson once, with him not playing in that ridiculously cold night down in Fayetteville in 2022. Jackson may be a bit raw, but appears to a tough matchup for Ole Miss' offensive line on the surface at 6-7 and 282 pounds.
The former LSU Tiger (before Arkansas) has picked up 67 tackles during his time at Arkansas with 9.5 sacks. The Hogs don't have a lot of returning starters on defense, but there's some continuity up in the front seven, enough to free up Landon Jackson potentially.
Ole Miss hasn't had a lot of offensive success against Arkansas over the last two seasons, and definitely played its worst game of the season the last time playing in Fayetteville. Like the LSU road skid, can Ole Miss contain Jackson up front and come out with a road victory?
