Ole Miss lost some depth at quarterback this week when reports surfaced that Grant Tisdale entered the transfer portal. Coach Matt Luke confirmed the news during the SEC media teleconference on Wednesday.

“Tuesday afternoon, Grant and I visited and he handled it the right way, we are super supportive of Grant, he is a great young man but with him being the third guy, just felt like it was time to enter the transfer portal and see what his options are and we are fully supportive of him, think he is a great young man,” Luke said. “Going to help try and find him the best place to go.”

The Rebels have a tough task this week at Auburn, which Luke said has an impressive defense.

“They are very, very talented, they play hard,” Luke said. “There are a lot of times you see guys that are good run stuffers or good pass stoppers, they are a little different because they are big and twitchy. They are big guys and can stop the run but when they need to crank it up and get after the passer, they can do that as well. I’ve been very impressed with how hard they play. They are veterans, they are experienced and I have a lot of respect for them and how they play.”

It’s a challenge for the Ole Miss offensive line, and Luke offered some keys to the game.

“You have to go in and play really hard, extend some drives, make them run sideline to sideline try and make this a four-quarter game,” he said. “… When we have an opportunity to make a play, we have to do it… last week, when we got in the red zone, we kicked field goals, we have to get in the end zone. We have been better… coach Mac and his staff have done well, it will be a challenge… they do a great job of stretching the field so we’ll have our work cut out for us.”