Ole Miss Football Week Two Opponent Preview: Central Arkansas Bears Offense

Our college football preview series continues this week with the Rebels' week two matchup.

After kicking off the 2022 season against the Troy Trojans at home, the Ole Miss Rebels will welcome the Central Arkansas Bears to Vaught Hemingway Stadium in Week 2 of the college football season.

Just like Ole Miss, Central Arkansas will be taking the field with some new faces on the roster.

2021 starting quarterback Breylin Smith decided to go pro, while backup quarterback Darius Bowers entered the transfer portal following the 2021 season. The Bears also lost their No. 1 receiver to the transfer portal. Tyler Hudson is now a Louisville Cardinal after being named an FCS All-American in 2021.

The Rebels and Bears will kick off at 6 p.m. CT on Sept. 10. On Monday, we did an overview of the Central Arkansas program, and now we will dive deeper into the Bears' offense. Here is a look at the offensive playmakers taking the field for Central Arkansas this fall.

Returning Offensive Leaders

Passing: Will McElvain

McElvain appeared in four games and started in two for the Northern Iowa Panthers in 2021, throwing for 237 yards, one touchdown, and two interceptions on 41 passing attempts.

2022 stats: 173 passing yards, one touchdown, two interceptions, 58.1 completion percentage.

Rushing: Darius Hale

2022 stats: 18 carries, 99 yards, zero touchdowns, averaging 5.5 yards per carry.

Receiving: Myles Bulter

2022 stats: six receptions, 72 yards, one touchdown, averaging 12.0 yards per reception.

Offensive Transfers

QB Will McElvain (Northern Iowa), WR Nnamdi Adim-Madumere (Minnesota)

Major Storylines

As mentioned above, Central Arkansas lost key contributors on the offensive side of the ball to the transfer portal and the pros. The Bears have replaced 2021 starting quarterback Breylin Smith with quarterback Will McElvain who transferred to Central Arkansas after four seasons with Northern Iowa. In four years with the Panthers, McElvain threw for 4,064 yards and 27 touchdowns.

To fill the void left by former No. 1 receiver Tyler Hudson, the Bears also added Minnesota receiver Nnamdi Adim-Madumere via the transfer portal. Adim-Madumere redshirted in 2019 and did not play in 2020 or 2021. Freshman receiver Myles Butler led Central Arkansas in receiving in Week 1 and could be a player to look out for on Saturday. 

Central Arkansas' running back room will be led by sophomore running back Darius Hale. In his freshman year, Hale rushed for over 1,000 yards and 17 touchdowns on 199 carries, averaging 5.1 yards per carry. Hale will once again be the bell cow of the Central Arkansas rushing attack after no other running back on the Bears' roster eclipsed 300 rushing yards in 2021.

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You can follow Ben King on Twitter at @BKing_2023.

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