One year removed from leading the nation in scoring defense, the Ole Miss Rebels Landshark D has had to regroup on the fly to prepare itself for a pivotal 2015 season in the SEC West.

Gone are All-American defensive backs Senquez Golson and Cody Prewitt, All-SEC linebacker Serderius Bryant and six-year veteran Deterrian Shackelford. Retained are star defensive tackles Robert Nkemdiche and Issac Gross, edge rusher Marquis Haynes, linebacker Denzel Nkemdiche, do-everything safety Tony Conner and former No. 1-rated junior college cornerbacks Tee Shepard and Tony Bridges.

The unit lost plenty of talent from a year ago, but as you can see it returns an even greater wealth of talent for the coming season, featuring accomplished, dependable stars at all three levels of the defense. But not even former five-star signees like Robert Nkemdiche or Conner will have as much say in the success of this year’s edition of the Landshark D as senior cornerback-turned-safety Mike Hilton, this year’s Chucky Mullins Courage Award winner.

Hilton, the 26th winner in the award’s illustrious history, will replace Shackelford as the man wearing Mullins’ No. 38 on Saturdays this fall. But the award comes with more than just an otherwise retired number; it’s an indication of exceptional leadership, of a heavy investment in the program and the coaching staff, and of an ability to lift the team by any means necessary.

Although he’s played corner for his entire Ole Miss career, Hilton accepted embraced a move to safety for his senior season, filling the spot Prewitt left vacant in the back-end of the defense. The move allows Ole Miss to promote both its highly rated corners — Shepard and Bridges — into the starting lineup, one replacing Golson and the other filling Hilton’s old starting spot.

That’s a selfless move that may set Hilton back to a small degree, but will advance the entire secondary around him. Trae Elston can maintain his role at the Rover position, a role he excelled in a year ago, especially in the second half of the season. Conner can continue to play strong safety, allowing Ole Miss to make use of his unmatched combination of athleticism and physicality both in the box and deep in coverage.

That leaves Hilton to play free safety, likely the easiest of the safety positions for a former cornerback to pick up on the fly due to how often free safeties are left to cover on passing downs. He’s never played the position before at the college level, but as any true Mullins Award winner would do, he accepted the change and is now beginning to thrive in his new role (that is, before a broken thumb cut his spring short).

When talking to the Jackson Clarion-Ledger prior to last weekend’s NFL draft, both Golson and Prewitt admitted they expect this year’s secondary to be even better than last year’s, thanks to two capable corners, the best strong safety in the SEC and a selfless leader at free safety in Hilton.

And that’s how Hilton will really make an impact on this year’s team: As a leader both on and off the field. Shackelford, last year’s Mullins Award winner, was in his sixth year at Ole Miss in 2014 after overcoming two intense knee surgeries during his first five years in Oxford. He was a capable middle linebacker, as evidenced by the numbers the defense posted for the season, but his true value was as a leader who’d overcome adversity and brought a passion to the game few teams could match. That passion rubbed off onto his teammates, and the rest, as they say, is history.

Hilton is cut from the same cloth. His selflessness is only one example of his value as a leader. The work he’s put in to learn a new position has inspired teammates to work harder to hone their own crafts, and his toughness as an undersized player — standing only 5-foot-9 and weighing only 180 pounds — is contagious.

After all, Hilton did lead Ole Miss in tackles a year ago with 71 despite playing cornerback for most of the year. That total may rise this fall now that he’s playing safety, but regardless of what the numbers say, if he maintains his fearless playing style and determined attitude, he’ll thrive and so will his teammates.

That toughness despite a lack of size is perhaps the strongest connection between Hilton and Mullins, and it’s a big reason Hilton will don No. 38 this season, explains former Vanderbilt football player Brad Gaines, the player involved in the collision that left Mullins paralyzed. Gaines was in attendance at the Chucky Mullins Courage Award breakfast last month to honor is late friend and former opponent, just as he does every year. While he was there, he had this to say of Hilton’s toughness when chatting with the Clarion-Ledger’s Billy Watkins.

“I sat next to Hugh (Freeze) at the banquet, and he said, ‘You know, Brad, Mike Hilton is the same sort of guy Chucky was. Really small but tough. He was the guy that I wasn’t going to offer a scholarship, but (offensive line coach) Matt Luke kept telling me that I had to see this kid play. When I did, I knew we had to offer him.’ ”

So it seems toughness is what earned Hilton a scholarship in the SEC; it’s what earned him the Mullins Award, and it’s what’s earned him starting jobs at two positions during his career with the Rebels.

Players like Nkemdiche and Conner will get more publicity, and those players have brighter NFL futures than Hilton, too. But talent aside, Hilton is the heart and soul of this year’s defense. He’ll instill the toughness, he’ll provide the veteran experience and he’ll be the player on the field who makes everything click.

That’s why he’ll wear No. 38, and that’s why, even after losing so much talent, the Rebels defense should continue to dominate in 2015.