Ole Miss Must Answer These Questions Before Next Season

There is a ton of optimism heading into the fall, and with that comes high expectations. Mark Schlabach of ESPN ranks Ole Miss inside the top ten in his way-too-early Top 25, and with star power like Trinidad Chambliss and Kewan Lacy returning on offense, Ole Miss has the core of what should be an explosive group on that side of the ball.

Defensively, All-SEC lineman Will Echoles is back, and head coach Pete Golding brings in the nation's second-ranked portal class. Put it all together, and the Rebels look like a team capable of making serious noise in the SEC and pushing for a College Football Playoff spot.

Still, even talented rosters enter the season with questions that must be answered on the field.

Can The Tight End Room Become a Bigger Factor?

Caleb Odom catches two point conversion in Fiesta Bowl. — Ole Miss Rebels tight end Caleb Odom (4) catches a 2-point conversion against the Miami Hurricanes during their Vrbo Fiesta Bowl matchup at State Farm Stadium on Jan. 8, 2026. | Joe Rondone/The Republic / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

One area that could quietly shape the ceiling of the Ole Miss offense is the health and development of the tight end room.

While much of the offseason buzz has centered on the return of Chambliss, Lacy and Deuce Alexander, the tight end position remains a key piece of John David Baker's offense.

For Ole Miss, replacing Dae'Quan Wright isn't about finding talent. It's about staying healthy and making sure the next group understands its role. Wright served as a safety blanket for Chambliss a season ago, and maintaining that reliability will be critical this fall.

Caleb Odom gives the Rebels a legitimate mismatch in the passing game.

At 6-foot-5, 240 pounds, he presents a difficult assignment for linebackers and safeties, combining size, speed, and a wide catch radius. He can stretch the field vertically, settle into tight windows, and give Chambliss a reliable target when plays break down and the quarterback is forced to improvise.

Odom made the transition from wide receiver to tight end after arriving in Oxford a season ago and showed promising flashes in the process. He finished with 19 catches for 197 yards and two touchdowns, giving Ole Miss reason to believe he is capable of filling a larger role.

Luke Hasz brings the profile of a traditional tight end, with the ability to make an impact in the run game and provide value in max-protection situations. At 6-foot-3 and 240 pounds, he has the size, frame and strong hands to create mismatches and consistently win one-on-one battles.

Both have dealt with injuries in the past. Hasz is expected to be fully recovered from right ankle surgery that significantly limited him in 2025, while Odom is working his way back from a shoulder injury suffered in the first round of the College Football Playoff against Tulane.

It's a talented room, but questions about the depth behind them make their health a critical factor in whether Ole Miss can reach its offensive ceiling in 2026.

Will the Defense Take Another Step?

Ole Miss boasts high-caliber additions from the transfer portal, and the feeling around the program, is that the issues that plagued them a season ago have been addressed.

The Rebels added key depth to the defensive line and overhauled a linebacker room that played extremely hard in 2025, but lacked the depth down the stretch of games to get off the field, which was highlighted in the final minutes of the Fiesta Bowl.

Anchored by veterans Will Echoles and Kam Franklin, the front seven should be stout against the run, while Oregon transfer Blake Purchase and Nevada transfer Johnathan Maldonado are expected to help offset the pass-rush production lost with Princewill Umanmielen's departure.

The question will be the secondary.

One of Ole Miss's biggest issues in the secondary last season was a lack of length in one-on-one matchups when pushing vertically downfield. The additions of Sharif Denson and Edwin Joseph are widely viewed as direct answers to that problem.

Still, while the Rebels believe they've added more length and versatility on the back end, talent alone won't make this group a lockdown unit. Communication remains one of the biggest factors in building a reliable secondary, and that was an area Ole Miss struggled with at times a season ago.

The Rebel secondary was caught with its eyes in the wrong place too often last season, and those lapses led to explosive plays and coverage breakdowns.

While some of that can be attributed to development, most of it came down to being properly lined up and fully understanding the coverage.

In a league where the margins are razor-thin, and even thinner for a team with College Football Playoff expectations, Ole Miss will spend the summer working to make sure those questions are answered.

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