Three weeks in and it’s still too early to tell anything about Ole Miss’ pass defense.

That’s because the Rebels are still trying to figure out who will step in to replace Ken Webster, their top cover corner who was lost for the season to a knee injury on the first defensive possession of the year.

When No. 1 Alabama visits Oxford on Saturday to try and end a two-game skid against No. 19 Ole Miss, there is a lot to be determined.

Numbers say the Rebels are No. 7 in the SEC, allowing 245.5 passing yards per game. They’re 13th in the SEC in both 8.0 yards per attempt (8.0) and completion percentage (62.3) and are ranked No. 88 in the country in pass defense, as far as yards allowed.

And that may be generous considering the contrasting nature of the first two offenses they’ve faced.

Without Webster and with senior Tony Bridges struggling out of place in one-on-one, the Rebels allowed Florida State first-time starter Deondre Francois to throw for 419 yards. Last week, Wofford threw for only 72 yards, but the option team threw it only nine times.

“I will be confident by the time our game comes with our plans and hope that we’ve done a good job of communicating the proper techniques to try to defend their passing game,” Ole Miss coach Hugh Freeze said in his Monday press conference.

We’re about to find out.

Freshmen are all over the defensive backfield. Deontay Anderson, Jaylon Jones, Jalen Julius and Montrell Custis are among ones already getting looks in crunch time. Sophomore Zedrick Woods has started two games. Senior safety Tony Conner looked a little better last week but is still struggling to get back to his NFL potential after a torn meniscus last season.

The Seminoles won with a pair of 100-yard games from Jesus Wilson and running back Dalvin Cook. Wilson caught 9 passes for 125 yards, a 13.9-yard average. Cook had 101 yards on 7 catches, a team-high 14.4 yards per catch.

It was a lot of dink and dunk, but those have to be tackled, too.

Those players stand 5-foot-10 and 5-foot-11, respectively. Travis Rudolph (6-foot-1) and Kermit Whitfield (5-foot-8) combined for 11 catches.

Alabama has been more ally-oop than dink or dunk. Freshman Jalen Hurts doesn’t mind throwing long. No. 1 for the No. 1 team in the country has quite an early résumé.

Hurts has Alabama ranked first in the SEC in yards per pass attempt with 9.6. He will make teams focus on keeping him in the box. If one too many creep up in the backfield, a Rebel is left on an uncomfortable island with ArDarius Stewart.

Stewart is one of three lengthy vertical threats. At 6-foot-1, he has 9 catches for 203 yards and 3 touchdowns, one of them a 71-yarder. Sophomore Calvin Ridley stands the same height and has a team-high 11 catches for 138 yards and a touchdown. His long catch so far is 51 yards. Gehrig Dieter (6-foot-3) has 3 catches, one of them a 45-yard touchdown.

That doesn’t even include 6-foot-6 tight end nightmare O.J. Howard (5 catches, 68 yards), still itching to score for the first time this season.

Alabama will test the theory that Ole Miss isn’t better than middle of the road on pass defense. The Rebels have size there. Woods is 5-foot-11 and leads the team in tackles. Freshmen Anderson (6-foot-1) and Myles Hartsfield (5-foot-11) don’t have much experience under their belts, but Freeze likes their potential.

“I thought (C.J.) Hampton and Deontay (Anderson) and Myles (Hartsfield) and Red (Zedrick Woods) played really solid (against Wofford),” Freeze said. “I think those young kids are going to be good players. They’ve done pretty well in two games. But again, it’s really one that you have a sample size on, so it’s probably not a big enough sample size to really say. They’re going to be tested this week. With all the run defense and all the shot plays, they’ll be tested.”

The limited sample size has shown Ole Miss has trouble underneath and Alabama has success over the top, and anywhere else for that matter. Nick Saban will try and exploit that early on the road at hostile Vaught-Hemingway. In many ways, it’s the first true test for the Rebels’ secondary. Alabama has proved it knows what to do in the passing game.

Last season in the Rebels’ second straight win over the Tide, they had three interceptions. So far this season, Ole Miss is the only team in the conference without a pick. Saturday would be an opportune time to get on the board if it wants to get Alabama on the losing board again.