2014 Ole Miss Football Position Preview: Offensive Guard
By Dave Bevan
The 2014 Ole Miss football season is just around the corner. Here at Ole Hotty Toddy, we want to bring you the most coverage you can find to get you prepared for the upcoming season. In this article series, we are going to take an in depth look at each position for the Ole Miss Rebels. We are going to cover what happened with each position in 2013, the impact players of each position, and the future of each position. Hope you enjoy!
Today, we are going to start this series of articles with the offensive line, more particularly the guard position. We will of course discuss what we saw with the guard position in 2013, impact players this year, and the future of the position.
We can assure you, the offensive line is where the Ole Miss Rebels are hurting the most in depth than any other positions on the field. This is the one area that I just don’t see Coach Hugh Freeze redshirting any incoming new talent. If you have a moveable body, we will play you! That’s our motto now.
In 2013…
All Rebel fans can clearly remember the impact of injuries that plagued the offensive line last season. Hell, it started in game one. Against Vanderbilt in the season opener, Ole Miss’ starting offensive guard Aaron Morris suffered a torn ACL and is still recuperating from that injury. Towards the end of the season, we would also see star offensive lineman Larmey Tunsil battle with injuries.
With Morris out for the season, this brought an opportunity for redshirt junior Justin Bell to basically make his career debut at Ole Miss. Bell would start in all 13 games at guard (seven at right guard and six at left). His expectations grew after Morris tore his ACL. That is why Bell went back and forth from each side of the position last season.
During the Offseason…
Aaron Morris has been still recovering this offseason. Justin Bell has been played at primarily left guard this past spring, while Daronte Boudlin has been filling in the right side of the position. Word had been going around that Bell could step in at center, but that quickly diminished as offensive line coach Matt Luke feels really good about Ben Still stepping into that role. Walk-on Craig Frigo has been Bell’s back-up for much of the spring time.
In 2014…
You can expect Justin Bell making some starts at guard this season. Coach Luke has quoted Bell being one of his favorites this offseason on the offensive line. If Morris can get health, you’re more than likely looking at Bell starting at right guard and Morris starting on the left side.
If Freeze feels Morris is not fit to go at the beginning of the season, look for Bouldin possibly stepping into Morris’ role. Rebel Nation is also looking for the incoming recruits making their way on campus this fall.
The Future…
That incoming talent that Rebel fans are waiting for is Roderick Taylor. Taylor is a natural at the offensive guard position. A borderline 5-star prospect, Taylor comes from Callaway High School and was the highest rated recruit for the Rebels in 2014.
Don’t be surprised to see Taylor getting some playing time from the get-go. Taylor is big in size and has very quick feet. His strength and drive blocking skills will be an asset for the Rebel offensive line. One of his biggest areas of improvement is very important – pass protection.
If I were Freeze, this would be the area I would focus heavily on in recruiting. There is no question, we need depth in the offensive line. Currently, there are no hard commits from offensive linemen prospects in 2015.