The annual Grove Bowl is Saturday, in what should be a great opportunity to give Ole Miss fans their first glimpse at the new and (hopefully) improved product they’ll be seeing in 2019.
OK, so I might be overselling it a bit, considering it should be a relatively watered-down glimpse. There’s no reason for the Rebels to open up the playbook and do anything fancy, no matter how much the fans would enjoy it. No reason to put formations and tendencies on early film and no reason to risk injuries to a still relatively thin squad.
With that said, there are some things I’m looking forward to seeing this weekend, even if they’re relatively basic.
Here are five questions I’m looking to have answered this weekend.
5. How is Tylan Knight used?
Something I’m very interested to see is how the team plans to use the diminutive but explosive Tylan Knight, who’s been a jack-of-all-trades since arriving on campus last year. The 5-6, 175-pounder from Pearl, Miss., spent the majority of his freshman campaign at running back, before moving to cornerback later in the year once injuries began piling up. This spring, he’s been splitting time between running back and slot receiver.
Obviously, given their similar build, many fans are expecting Knight to turn into Noel Devine 2.0, the former star tailback Rich Rodriguez developed at West Virginia, who racked up 5,025 yards of total offense over 4 years in Morgantown. I’d advise fans to pump the brakes there, but I do think given his lateral quickness, burst and playmaking ability, he’s a tool to be taken advantage of both rushing and receiving. Any possible way to get the ball to him in open space should be up for consideration.
4. Is defensive front strictly 3-4?
Under former defensive coordinator Wesley McGriff, the Rebels mostly played a 4-2-5 defense, which, obviously, didn’t work out so well. In the era of spread offenses, 4-2-5 defenses actually aren’t a bad idea, though when you’re as poorly coached as the Rebels were, it didn’t really matter what scheme they were running, because they were already doomed. Under new coordinator Mike MacIntyre, the Rebels have switched to a 3-4 front, and it’s going to be interesting to see how predominantly that front is featured on Saturday.
Given the fact that the roster was built to run an even front, I’ve been assuming that Mac will run more of a hybrid defense, switching between even and odd fronts, though most accounts coming out of spring are pointing to a very heavy emphasis on the 3-4. I’ll be interested to see if he tries to maximize the versatility of the personnel by running multiple fronts in the efforts of keeping the defense unpredictable.
3. How do new OLB’s look dropping back?
With the switch to a 3-4 defense, former defensive ends are now playing outside linebacker, and former interior defensive linemen are playing at the 5, or out on the outside shade of the offensive tackle. For some guys, it’s an easy transition, due to either natural skill set or previous experience there, but other guys struggle adapting to new roles.
While I’m looking forward to seeing how the defensive line looks, I’m eager to see how the new outside linebackers look rushing from the stand-up position, and even more curious to see how they look dropping back into coverage.
Getting off the ball and hunting the quarterback is something they’re used to, but now they’ll need to show flexible hips and swift feet learning how to transition making drops. Feeling comfortable reading routes and understanding coverage schemes doesn’t happen overnight.
2. Which combination of OL looks most cohesive?
With 3 longtime OL starters needing to be replaced this spring, I’d be more than shocked if they exit spring knowing exactly what their starting 5 will look like. And they don’t need to know right now, because there’s plenty of time in the summer and fall camp to figure it out. Plus, there still are 7 talented incoming freshmen who haven’t stepped on campus yet, and who we won’t see for a few more months. One or two will undoubtedly find a spot in the 2-deep.
So, you can expect to see numerous variations of the line Saturday. Matt Luke and Jack Bicknell have already indicated that they’re trying to get every guy feeling comfortable with multiple positions to help provide greater flexibility and maximize versatility, in order to get the best possible lineup.
So guys like Eli Johnson, Chandler Tuitt and Ben Brown are playing both guard and center, and Alex Givens, Royce Newman and Bryce Matthews are getting reps at guard and tackle. Matthews is apparently getting reps at all 5 spots. The point is, we’ll see multiple combinations, and I want to see which one looks the most comfortable and cohesive together.
1. What does the crowd look like?
Obviously, by the end of last season, fans were visibly and vocally frustrated with the state of the program. It’s one thing to lose games, but losing while feeling the program is rudderless is another story, and support diminished considerably over the final few weeks of the season. That sentiment hasn’t dissipated entirely, but it’s been a solid offseason for the Rebels by not only signing a deep recruiting class, but more important, adding two fantastic coordinators in Rich Rodriguez and Mike MacIntyre.
So, I’ll be interested to see what kind of crowd shows up for the spring game, as it should provide a decent gauge as to whether fans have had some faith restored in the program. There’s a lot going on in Oxford this weekend, too, with the baseball team hosting No. 21 Florida, so plenty of people should be on campus. Can they get the fans out of the Grove and into the Vaught? That’s the real question.
Rick Stavig, who played at Ole Miss and Shippensburg University, is the owner of SE Scouting. A veteran scout, he specializes in the NFL Draft and recruiting coverage.
