Nov 1, 2014; Oxford, MS, USA; Ole Miss Rebels defensive back Kendarius Webster (15) during the game against the Auburn Tigers at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium. Auburn defeated Ole Miss 35-31. Mandatory Credit: Nelson Chenault-USA TODAY Sports
Penning yourself as DBU (Defensive Back University) is one of the trendiest moves among college football programs. LSU, Florida and Ohio State have all tried to coin the unofficial moniker. Ole Miss may not be known as a candidate for DBU just yet, but they have their fair share of defensive backs of NFL rosters with six: cornerbacks Senquez Golson (Pit.), Trumaine McBride (NYG) and Cassius Vaughn (Det.), and safeties Kendrick Lewis (Bal.), Cody Prewitt (Ten.) and Jamarca Sanford (NO).
Those departures over recent years haven’t stopped the Rebels from retooling and in 2015, they may have their deepest secondary yet. They return future first or second round draft pick Tony Conner at Husky, versatile senior leader Mike Hilton, a pair of tall lockdown junior college transfers Tony Bridges and Tee Shepard, a trio of hard-hitting safeties in CJ Hampton, Chief Brown and Trae Elston, along with a pair of speedy corners in Kailo Moore and Carlos Davis. Ole Miss can go two or three deep at every position without much drop off and one more player who should see extended snaps in the secondary is sophomore Kendarius Webster.
Webster saw action in all 13 games as a true freshman in 2014, including a start against Texas A&M. He is a prototypical example of just the kind of corner head coach Hugh Freeze is looking for in his cornerbacks: lengthy with toughness. At 5’11 and 180 Lbs., he has good size for the position and bodies up taller receivers in the red zone. Last season he had a big pop against Vanderbilt near the goal line that showed how valuable he can be down around the endzone.
While Bridges and Shepard are penciled in as the starters, Webster is an NFL talent who can come in and make sure there are fresh legs and talent on the field at all times. A highly-regarded prospect coming out of high school, Webster is now respected and feared by those very teams now that he’s lining up against them.
Recapping the list thus far:
38. Jordan Wilkins, RB (So.)
37. Christian Morris, OT (So.)
36. DeVante Kincade, QB (So.)
35. Aaron Morris, OG (Sr.)
34. Markell Pack, WR (So.)
33. Kendarius Webster, CB (So.)