Lane Kiffin eyes potential ‘big’ fix for Ole Miss Rebels’ offensive line woes
On Wednesday, it was reported by 247Sports’ Neal McCready that the Ole Miss Rebels would be hosting Iowa Western Community College offensive lineman Cooper Johnson on Thursday.Furthermore, McCready cites sources who speculate this could be due to fall camp injuries. It could also be a direct result of the lack of development with others in […]
On Wednesday, it was reported by 247Sports’ Neal McCready that the Ole Miss Rebels would be hosting Iowa Western Community College offensive lineman Cooper Johnson on Thursday.
Furthermore, McCready cites sources who speculate this could be due to fall camp injuries. It could also be a direct result of the lack of development with others in the offensive line room.
The 6-foot-6, 320-pound lineman is originally from Lincoln Southeast (Neb.) and was a member of the 2023 class. There, he held offers from Northern Iowa and Western Michigan. Just earlier this month, Johnson was named to the JCGridiron Preseason All-America Second-Team.
The Ole Miss offensive line has been battling the injury bug all spring and fall camp.
Delano Townsend, PJ Wilkins, and Jayden Williams have all been either in black, non-contact jerseys or in the training room for most of fall camp. Arkansas transfer Patrick Kutas has also been banged up. The staff is counting on him to provide leadership and be a starter up front.
Diego Pounds, John Wayne Oliver, Brycen Sanders, Kutas, and freshman Devin Harper were among the standouts this week in practice, per sources. Auburn transfer Percy Lewis has SEC experience and will push the starters. Freshman Connor Howes is “off to a great start”, per Rivals’ Ben Garrett. He also mentioned Maryland transfer Terez Davis is currently rehabbing a leg injury.
Still, the starting five is not exactly set in stone, and some of the major pieces are still not 100 percent. Thus, we see Lane Kiffin bringing in a potential late transfer to provide depth.
No. 15 Ole Miss opens the season Aug. 30 – hosting Georgia State at 6:45 p.m. CT. The Rebels are coming off a 10-3 season, which was capped with a dominant Gator Bowl win over Duke. Kiffin’s program has won 39 games since 2021, ranking third in the conference behind only Alabama and Georgia.
