The Ole Miss Rebels are going to look quite a bit different in 2025 on offense. Yes, Lane Kiffin and his effective scheming will still be there, but nearly the entire offense will be fresh faces. Have Kiffin and his staff built around new starting quarterback Austin Simmons sufficiently to potentially make a push into the College Football Playoff conversation again this fall?

Based on reports out of spring ball things are looking good, but what will the actual depth chart look like when the season kicks off? Let's dive into predicting what Ole Miss could and should look like on offense this season.

Quarterback

Starter: Austin Simmons

Backup: Trinidad Chambliss

As many Ole Miss fans know by now, Austin Simmons is a former four star phenom talent who graduated high school two years early with over a 4.0 GPA, joining the Rebels to play both football and baseball. He's finally all-in on football now, and according to Jaxson Dart himself, Simmons may possess even greater arm talent than the most productive Ole Miss quarterback in program history who was just selected in the first round of the NFL Draft by the New York Giants. The hype with Simmons is real.

Trinidad Chambliss just won a Division II national championship with Ferris State and recently transferred up to join Ole Miss. Chambliss provides the Rebels with a proven veteran quarterback behind Simmons should he falter significantly in his first full season starting or miss time with injury.

Running Back

Starter: Logan Diggs

Backup: Damien Taylor

Rotation: Domonique Thomas, Shekai Mills-Knight, Kewan Lacy

Logan Diggs suffered a significant knee injury back in 2023 which caused him to miss the entire 2024 season outside of a dozen snaps in the bowl game against Duke. He should be ready to lead the Ole Miss rushing attack in this his final season of eligibility.

Damien Taylor–a veteran talent just added via the Transfer Portal–should be able to come in and earn the primary backup role given his ascension to feature back last season for Troy. Domonique Thomas should battle him for the primary backup role as fall camp opens, but Taylor's explosion and physicality should give him a slight edge.

True freshman four star Shekai Mills-Knight and Missouri transfer Kewan Lacy are the future of the backfield and may see some snaps, but are both redshirt candidates. Shekai has the better shot between them to rise significantly up the depth chart with a strong summer and fall camp given his athleticism, balance, and SEC-ready build.

Wide Receiver

Starters: Cayden Lee, De'Zhaun Stribling, Harrison Wallace

Backups: Deuce Alexander, Caleb Odom, Traylon Ray

Freshman Breakout Candidates: Caleb Cunningham, Winston Watkins Jr.

When I spoke with several Ole Miss prospects headed to the NFL Draft this spring they were confident Cayden Lee would be the focal point of the Rebels offense in 2025. He likely spends most of his snaps in the slot once again while De'Zhaun Stribling (transfer from Oklahoma State) likely holds down the "X" outside receiver spot opposite Harrison Wallace (Penn State transfer). Both Stribling and Wallace bring incredible experience and decent production to a very inexperienced wide receiver room.

Lane Kiffin also brought in a younger trio of transfers as carbon copy backups and potential future starters in Deuce Alexander (slot wide receiver from Wake Forest), Caleb Odom (big bodied outside wide receiver from Alabama), and Traylon Ray (versatile outside receiver threat from West Virginia). They may not see the field a ton unless Wallace or Stribling fail to take off in their roles, but should be talents to keep an eye on.

Caleb Cunningham is the best among true freshman to breakout, possibly growing into a starting role by season's end thanks to his five star talents. Winston Watkins figures to be in line to compete with the slot options, but he can be much more than that one day.

Tight End

Starter: Dae'Quan Wright

Co-Starter: Luke Hasz

Last year Caden Prieskorn began the year seeing much more productive action than Dae'Quan Wright, but by the end of the year Wright had stepped up enough to earn a near even role. Wright will probably open the season as the first name on the depth chart given how much respect he earned in 2024, but Luke Hasz is a much more dynamic receiving weapon.

Hasz should operate essentially as a co-starter unless he really blows the Rebels staff away in fall camp, that then likely overtakes the majority of the snaps after a few weeks. Despite playing through absolutely terrible quarterback play at Arkansas he still managed to be an efficient receiving threat averaging nearly 14 yards per catch at tight end.

Offensive Line

Left Tackle: Diego Pounds
Left Guard: Delano Townsend (UAB transfer)
Center: Brycen Sanders
Right Guard: Patrick Kutas (Arkansas transfer)
Right Tackle: Jayden Williams

The offensive line will be replacing an extreme amount of experience from last year's Ole Miss squad. Diego Pounds started nearly the whole season at left tackle and should be a fine starter. Jayden Williams will take the other tackle spot after missing much of last season with injury, but he at least brings over 1000 snaps of experience over the last three seasons. However, the entire interior offensive line will be brand new for Ole Miss

Brycen Sanders (at center) should have some natural chemistry with Austin Simmons since they have been working together with the second team for quite a while already. The guard play could prove to be the most important as Delano Townsend (UAB transfer) and Patrick Kutas (Arkansas transfer) likely settle in there as completely new entities with the team.

Percy Lewis, a transfer from Auburn, should provide some veteran tackle depth at offensive tackle. PJ Wilkins, a transfer from Charlotte, should offer guard depth and potential future starting ability. Terez Davis, a transfer from Maryland, should similarly offer depth and youth at tackle, potentially pushing to be a starter one day. Devin Harper likely looks to be a rotational interior offensive lineman early that could eventually be one of the best players up front given his high four star pedigree and athletic traits.

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Overall, it's clear there's a lot of change, but Lane Kiffin and company have certainly stacked plenty of experience around their new quarterback Austin Simmons to help him find immediate success.

We'll be back with more Ole Miss Rebels coverage here at A to Z Sports soon! Follow me (@FF_TravisM) and A to Z Sports (@AtoZSportsNFL) on X for all the latest football news!

And if you want to see why Ole Miss fans should be excited about Austin Simmons just check out some of his highlights from last season in the video below!

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