2014 Ole Miss Football Position Preview: Offensive Tackle

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!

Since we’ve just covered the offensive guard position preview, it is only natural to cover the offensive tackle in this article. We are going rewind time and discuss what came out of this position last season. We will also discuss impact players of the position, what to expect in 2014, and the future of the position.

The offensive tackle position is another position on the Ole Miss Rebels’ offensive line that hurting in depth. I said it in the last article about the guards and I will say it again in this one – I just don’t see Coach Hugh Freeze redshirting any new talent on the offensive line. We are screaming for depth, and would start any new talent that comes along.

In 2013…

Laremy Tunsil and Austin Golson played huge roles at offensive tackle in the 2013 season. Both were top-rated prospects coming into 2013, and started almost immediately their freshmen season. This was also due to a lack of depth reasons.

Both, Tunsil and Golson would sustain injuries towards the end of the season. Both injuries could very well be traced back to fatigue due to extensive playing time. Regardless, both Tunsil and Golson proved they were the high talent they were hyped to be in the offseason.

Ole Miss quarterback Bo Wallace had this to say about Larmey Tunsil:

"“He makes you feel so comfortable back there.”"

Pierce Burton also played a major role at tackle in 2013.

During the Offseason…

The Ole Miss offensive line took a major blow this offseason when right tackle Austin Golson made the decision to transfer to Auburn. It was noted that it was due to family obligations for his discussion, and with the approval from Freeze, Golson will walk-on at Auburn. This means that it is not a scholarship transfer. Golson will be able to bypass NCAA transfer rules and will not have to sit out a year before being eligible to play.

There are two things Ole Miss fans are thinking with the whole Golson situation. First, they’re thinking the whole transfer is bullshit. Second, who the hell is going to start at right tackle now?

That is a good question, because Golson made his decision after spring practice. So, there has not been much scouting of who could take over the role of right tackle.

During the spring, things seemed to be flowing right along – Tunsil at left tackle and Golson at right. Now, the offensive coaching staff of Ole Miss will be shuffling guys around in positions to find their best five starters for the offensive line.

In 2014…

You can expect Larmey Tunsil to play a huge role at offensive tackle. He is just natural at the position and is expected to play predominately the left side. Now, who is going to play right tackle?

In the last article, we mention Justin Bell possibly starting at guard. If we had no depth issues all over the offensive line, guard would be the best suited position for Bell. The good thing about Bell is that he is easily adaptable to any position on the offensive line. As we discussed, there was talk of him starting at center. Redshirt sophomore Robert Conyers has been a possibly brought up in discussions to fill in at right tackle. Then, there is…

The Future…

The Austin Golson transfer and injuries have not been the only concerns for the offensive line this offseason. Hugh Freeze is also trying to replace two other 2013 starters (Pierce Burton and Emmanuel McCray) who graduated and went to the NFL in the 2014 draft.

Freeze could very well start incoming JUCO 3-star prospect Fahn Cooper. Cooper landed on campus in June and could see early high expectations at right tackle this fall. Cooper is a massive 6-3, 315 pounds of talent. Even with his sizes, he has excellent footwork and easily fits what the Rebels want to do with the offense line.