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

Ole Miss returns three of their offensive line starters from last season. Four if you count sophomore Nick Broeker who split reps at left tackle. Redshirt junior Ben Brown is entering his third season as the team’s starter and RS senior Royce Newman could play either guard or tackle next season.

Obviously, with the team’s success running the ball last season, the Rebels’ offensive line has talent. At the same time, Ole Miss gave up 76 tackles for loss last season which was the worst mark in the conference.

Overall, there are some good pieces here and they return most of the talent from last season. At the same time, I wouldn’t expect this position group to be more than middle of the road in the SEC.

As for how they match up with Auburn, while the Tigers lost a lot of talent on the D-line, I still like Auburn in the battle of the trenches here.

Like Auburn, the Rebels have lost a lot of defensive line talent this offseason. While Ole Miss didn’t have anyone get drafted in the NFL this season, three of the team’s D-line starters from last season have signed with teams as undrafted free agents.

The trio of Benito Jones, Josiah Coatney and Austrian Robinson was a productive one for the Rebels last season — specifically, Jones who recorded 30 tackles, 10 TFLs and 5.5 sacks last season.

In terms of who they have now, it’s not great. Sophomore Quentin Bivens tallied 18 tackles and 2.5 sacks last season and 6-foot-6, 270-pound DE Ryder Anderson is a physical freak who was playing well before he season ended due to a leg injury.

Ole Miss will certainly need Anderson to take that next step if they want to replace the NFL talent they had last year. The fate of the Rebels defensive line also depends on if they continue to run a 3-4 defense or if Kiffin decides to move to a four-man front.