COLUMN: Time to Panic About Ole Miss Rebels Offensive Line?

Ole Miss struggled to move the ball up and down the field versus the Alabama Crimson Tide, and it may be time to panic about the Rebels' offensive line moving forward.

OXFORD, Miss. -- The No. 15 Ole Miss Rebels got served a piping hot serving of reality on Saturday afternoon after losing 24-10 to the No. 13 Alabama Crimson Tide for the eighth straight season.

While Ole Miss' defense showed steady improvement and managed to keep the Rebels in the game, the offense was vanilla and had one of its worst outings in the Lane Kiffin era. Ultimately, poor execution missed opportunities, and questionable playcalling are what made the Rebels flounder offensively, but one position group has ultimately held the unit back early in the season.

Ole Miss' offensive line looked questionable the first three games of the season, but its matchup versus Alabama was absolutely abysmal. Superstar running back Quinshon Judkins has been dealing with nagging injuries, but he can't even get to the line of scrimmage because he is getting hit as soon as he gets the ball. Versus Alabama, the Rebels registered 56 rushing yards on 29 attempts as a TEAM. 

Through four games, the Rebels have recorded at least 100 rushing yards as a team twice. In 2022, Ole Miss only recorded less than 100 rushing yards as a team once. Due to their inability to run the ball as effectively as they have in the past, the Rebels' aerial attack has also suffered.

Alabama sacked quarterback Jaxson Dart five times on Saturday, and he has now been taken down 10 times entering Week 5. It looked like Ole Miss' linemen were playing patty cake with Alabama's defensive front. There was one play in particular, where both Micah Pettus and Jeremy James got flagged for holding and the play still ended with Dart in the dirt.

Ole Miss' offensive line has no depth and a severe lack of talent this season and no one should be surprised honestly. 

Stalwart offensive lineman Nick Broeker left for the NFL this offseason after not allowing a sack the entire 2022 campaign and was Ole Miss' best run blocker by a mile the last four seasons. Tackle Mason Brooks was also a savvy blocker in the run game and he left for the pros in the spring as well.

The Rebels did not find suitable replacements, however, as Kiffin did not recruit heavily along the offensive line this offseason. 

"The Portal King" secured two linemen via transfer and landed four-star Brycen Sanders in his 2023 recruiting class, but those are the only guys who can contribute at this time, and Sanders still likely needs to put on weight before he sees the field consistently.

Jayden Williams was Ole Miss' starting left tackle in 2022, and one of its better pass blockers from last year, but he has rarely seen the field and it is hard to tell if it is due to injury or a lack of progression. 

John Garrison was hired to be the Rebels' new offensive line coach this offseason, and so far his unit has underperformed against better teams and not made many adjustments early on. 

Kiffin has done his due diligence on receivers and quarterbacks, but it does not matter who is throwing or catching the ball if your trenches are not up to par.