Lane Kiffin Reveals Status of 'Really Competitive' Ole Miss Offensive Line Battles

The Ole Miss Rebels have numerous new pieces on their offensive line this season, but who will make their way into the starting five?

Oct 28, 2023; Oxford, Mississippi, USA; Mississippi Rebels offensive linemen Micah Pettus (57) and Jeremy James (78) block Vanderbilt Commodores defensive linemen Christian James (91) during the first half at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Petre Thomas-USA TODAY Sports / Petre Thomas-USA TODAY Sports

The Ole Miss Rebels once again did plenty of work in the transfer portal this offseason, but one group that is sometimes overlooked in this conversation is the offensive line.

Ole Miss added numerous skilled transfers up front, including Gerquan Scott (Southern Miss), Diego Pounds (North Carolina), Julius Buelow (Washington) and Nate Kalepo (Washington). On Monday, head coach Lane Kiffin was asked about his assessment of these new linemen in what has quickly become a deep unit in the Rebels offense.

"I think they've done a really good job," Kiffin said. "I mean, there's a number of them, and that group in general has never looked like this where there's competition at all five spots. We've never had that where it's really competitive competition of guys that probably can all play really well at this level. It's really good to have, and I think they've done a good job buying in and competing."

Kiffin has often preached on breeding competition in his position groups, but that isn't always the primary goal for him in the portal. Instead, he views it through the lens of overall roster construction, yet another theme he draws from the NFL.

"We just always look at how do we make the roster better?" Kiffin said. "Sometimes that's signing guys, and you don't necessarily know for sure who's necessarily going to leave too. You're signing people, and there may be somebody who comes back, and they maybe go in the portal or after spring. It doesn't quite maybe work how you think it would."

For now, there isn't much clarity on who will be where along the offensive line when the season kicks off on Aug. 31 against Furman, although Kiffin did say that Scott "has done a really good job" at both guard and center. The "big uglies" up front may not get the same amount of attention as their defensive counterparts, but the Ole Miss staff has gone to great lengths to both protect their quarterback and open lanes for a new-look backfield this season.

It's not just Kiffin who has a high opinion of the new line additions, however. Some of the returners up front have also noticed some good progress in team chemistry within the locker room.

"I feel like everybody is gelling pretty well," offensive lineman Micah Pettus said last week. "Being here since high school, I've seen a lot of guys come and go from the portal, and we've always come together, but this group came together the quickest. Everybody's on one page and has the same end goal in mind, so we're very cohesive together."