It’s been three years since Robert Nkemdiche was the nation’s No. 1 high school recruit. He’s now played two seasons at Ole Miss, and both he and the team showed noticeable growth in that time.

But now Nkemdiche is a junior, an upperclassmen, a player entering what will likely be his final season at the collegiate level. This season stands to be his going out party. It’s his last chance to cement his legacy as a collegiate, and his last chance to work his way into the top 10 of the 2016 NFL Draft, perhaps as high as No. 1 overall.

Nkemdiche needs a big season this season, and it’s fair to expect that he’ll have one.

He has experience as a cornerstone on the nation’s No. 1 scoring defense just last season, and has two years of starting experience in the daunting SEC West. He’s as physically superior to his competition as he’s ever been during his Ole Miss career, and he has more help around him on the defensive line than ever before as a Rebel.

You see, Nkemdiche has been among the most impactful defensive linemen in the nation since he moved inside to defensive tackle as a freshman. The problem is, he hasn’t had much help around him in the front four, and most of what the line has achieved can be credited in large part to he and Issac Gross.

Last season, the only Rebel to amass more than 4.0 sacks on the season was freshman Marquis Haynes, a pure speed rusher off the edge who weighed just 220 pounds a year ago. Haynes and Tony Conner, a member of the secondary, led the team in tackles for loss.

Two years ago, Nkemdiche’s freshman season, no one on the Ole Miss defense registered more than 3.5 sacks, and Nkemdiche and Gross both ranked among the top 3 on the team in tackles for loss.

Those two standout defensive tackles, especially Nkemdiche, have faced double teams on virtually every snap for two straight seasons. They’ve been tasked with forfeiting their own numbers for the sake of occupying blockers and generating a push up front to allow teammates to make plays. And considering the success of the Ole Miss defense the last two years, they’ve performed those duties at an elite level.

The Rebels have been without at least one starting linebacker (Serderius Bryant, Denzel Nkemdiche and Deterrian Shackelford, often filling only two spots on the field between them) for most of the last two years, but the production of the linebackers never wavered. That’s a testament to the work Nkemdiche does to free up teammates to make tackles.

But now the Rebels have pieces up front that may allow Nkemdiche to start putting up All-American numbers. Haynes is a sophomore, a bit stronger and a bit savvier as a pass rushing threat. Gross is a senior who has blossomed into one of the best defensive tackles in the SEC, and he may take some of the burden from Nkemdiche on certain plays so the physical monster can, well, be a physical monster that blows a play up.

C.J. Johnson, a former defensive end, is now playing inside linebacker behind Nkemdiche, and his versatility should allow Nkemdiche more freedom and less stress up front. With Mike Hilton and Trae Elston returning at safety, Conner should have more freedom to make plays on his own as well, once again lightening the burden Nkemdiche has carried on the defense.

The rising junior will still face frequent double teams, but he’ll have more teammates capable of making offenses pay for it than ever before. And as players like Haynes, Gross, Conner, Johnson, his brother Denzel and others continue to burn defenses who send multiple blockers Robert’s way, they’ll be forced to employ that strategy on fewer snaps.

And in one-on-one situations, Nkemdiche will make you pay.

He’s physically gifted, supremely talented, plenty experienced and now surrounded by a ton of talent. It’s reckless to predict the next defensive player of the year before a season even begins, but Nkemdiche is certainly a preseason contender coming out of spring ball.

He needs a big season in 2015, and he’s almost certain to have one.