Ole Miss won’t be bowling in 2017, but that should provide some motivation in itself to win and make the most of the regular season. Saturday’s Grove Bowl will be a test of two sides getting accustomed to new coordinators and coaches, but also a chance to see returns from injury. Here are five things to look for from Oxford.

Can Metcalf pick up where he left off?

Freshman receiver DK Metcalf not only had two touchdown catches in his first two games of 2016, both were highlight-reel grabs. Then Metcalf broke his foot and missed the rest of the season. Metcalf was asserting himself as a go-to guy in the red zone, a leaper who can out-muscle defenders. The Rebels had little to no run game, which hurt near the end zone, and without Metcalf, the passing threat was missing a layer. His chemistry with sophomore quarterback Shea Patterson will be something to look for Saturday.

What role does Jason Pellerin play?

Pellerin clearly isn’t going to be the Rebels’ quarterback. Hugh Freeze called him one of the team’s best 22 players and wants him on the field. A move to tight end is possible and those are big shoes to fill replacing Evan Engram. Pellerin is a few inches taller and a handful of pounds heavier than Engram, who was the centerpiece of Ole Miss’s offense. Patterson developed a quick go-to-guy relationship with Engram when forced into action last season. Pellerin has the size. It will be interesting to see if the transition has already started.

Tweaks to the defense

With new coordinator Wesley McGriff, there will be changes on the defense. There needs to be because Ole Miss ranked next-to-last in total defense last season in the conference. The bulk of that talk was about the rushing defense that ranked dead last, but McGriff immediately made changes in the secondary, moving sophomore Myles Hartsfield from Rover to corner. Ole Miss was seventh in the SEC in pass defense. The spring consisted of a lot of press coverage. Hartsfield and sophomore Jaylon Jones at corner against Patterson will be something to keep an eye on. Kendarius Webster will be back in August. A knee injury in the opener against Florida State put him out for all of last season but forced Hartsfield and Jones into experience that is paying off.

At the other end …

Marquis Haynes announcing he would return for his senior season exited fans. It surprised them too. Haynes is a beast on one end, a 6-foot-3 pain to block that the NFL would like to have already. He had seven sacks last season, 11 tackles-for-loss and three forced fumbles. His running mate at the other end, Fadol Brown, could not stay healthy. Haynes drew early spring praise for his leadership and will get help on the field this season. Victor Evans ran with the first team at practice but one of two potential stars will shine Saturday. Charles Wiley enrolled early last season but an arrest brought a redshirt season. Somewhat a mirror of Haynes’ intensity is Syracuse transfer Qaadir Sheppard, who sat out last season but has Freeze talking about his potential.

Will the run game appear?

Ole Miss was 95th in the country in rushing last season. Not sure how much we can learn from any of the backs against a defense that was as bad as it could have been last season and is learning a new style. At the least, it will be good for fans to see Jordan Wilkins back on the field. Wilkins was a victim of an academic error on the school’s part, not his own, and missed the entire season. Once Eric Swinney went down in the opener, Wilkins’ vacancy was painful. At 6-foot-1, 215 pounds, Wilkins needs to fill a power back role the Rebels did not have. It made third-and-inches a passing down. A thunder-and-lightning approach with Wilkins and Swinney would wet appetites for the next five months.