Auburn football: Ole Miss rushing attack could present early test for Tigers defense

The Rebels were the second-best rushing team in the SEC last season. Alongside Plumlee’s 1,000-yard season, Ole Miss had three quality backs that shared carries.

One of those backs, Scottie Phillips, is now with the Houston Texans and as the team’s leader in carries last season, the Rebels will certainly miss his skill and leadership.

However, Ole Miss proved last season that they had plenty of young talent behind Phillips. At 5-foot-9 and 180 pounds, Sophomore Jerrion Ealy may not have elite size but he does have the athleticism and speed to be a star.

As the third-best running back recruit in the class of 2019 according to 247Sports, Ealy came to Oxford with a lot of hype. Hype he definitely delivered on. Ealy led the Rebels with 772 rushing yards and six touchdowns on nearly seven yards per carry last season. The All-SEC Freshman also chipped in 20 receptions for 172 yards and another TD.

Ealy isn’t the only promising sophomore the Rebels have at running back. Snoop Conner is an explosive option, who at 5-foot-10 and 215 pounds, is tough to bring down. like Ealy, Conner made the most of his carries and recorded 512 yards and five touchdowns on over six yards per carry as a true freshman last season.

Both Ealy and Conner are capable of being 1,000-yard backs in the SEC next season. Especially if the Rebels run the ball as much as they did last season.

However, for the most part, the Auburn defense was able to bottle the Ole Miss rushing attack last season (167 yards on 42 carries) and they’ll likely need to do the same next season.