2. Ole Miss can compete in the trenches
After the Georgia game last season, head coach Lane Kiffin identified the significant difference between them and the elite. Kiffin witnessed his team bullied on both sides of the ball along the line of scrimmage in Athens, and he has looked to fix that problem for the 2024 season.
The first thing Kiffin and the staff addressed via the transfer portal was strengthening the defensive front. Being able to add an elite defensive tackle from the transfer portal is rare, which made it more impressive that Ole Miss did just that. Bringing in former five-star recruit Walter Nolen will help against the run significantly.
The Rebels also brought in Chris Hardie on the defensive line, who is a huge presence and adds to JJ Ivey, JJ Pegues, Akelo Stone, and Zxavian Harris. This gives defensive line coach Randall Joyner the opportunity to rotate when necessary.
Over to the offensive line, John Garrison has really beefed up his unit. He brought in two guards who were part of winning the 2023 Joe Moore Award, Nate Kalepo and Julius Buelow. Both are over 320-pound guards who can dominate in the run game. Ole Miss struggled to create running gaps down the middle in 2023; Kalepo and Buelow are people movers who will help create more space for running lanes.
The offensive line should be able to make a significant jump next season with better rotation if injuries occur, which they usually do across the line. Guard Gerquan Scott and tackle Diego Pounds were bought via the transfer portal to add competition and rotation.