2025 Ole Miss Football Offense Beginning to Take Shape Following Latest Portal Commit

Posted by author January 19, 2025 Football

Spread the love

The Ole Miss Rebels will have a different looking offense in 2025 after a host of players have declared for the NFL Draft, but the vision is starting to take shape for Lane Kiffin’s bunch.

The Rebels finished the 2024 campaign with a 10-3 record, and despite falling short of the College Football Playoff, the program kept some critical momentum moving in the right direction as it looks to reset for 2025.

That may be easier said than done with veterans like Jaxson Dart eyeing a professional future, but some key additions in recruiting and the transfer portal have made the Ole Miss offense look formidable again (on paper) for the upcoming fall, including a pledge from a new wide receiver on Sunday.

Here’s a brief overview of who a few key contributors could be at the skill positions for Ole Miss as of this writing. Keep in mind that more transfer portal moves are possible, but in mid-January, here’s where things stand.

Quarterback

Austin Simmons is young, but he’s been in this offense for two seasons (with one year of eligibility exhausted), and he has looked the part in his limited appearances in a Rebel uniform. The brightest moment for the young gunslinger came as he led a critical scoring drive against the Georgia Bulldogs in the first quarter back in November, a possession that kept Ole Miss in the game and helped spark an upset win.

There will probably be growing pains for Simmons at times in 2025 (as is the case with most first-year starters), but it’s undeniable that he knows this offensive system, and if he can stay healthy, he has all the talent in the world to make it successful.

Running Back

Logan Diggs is expected to return for Ole Miss in 2025 after only seeing action in one game this year (the Gator Bowl) as he recovered from an ACL injury in 2023 when he suited up with LSU. Diggs’ veteran presence could be key in this room that looks to revamp after a lackluster campaign.

Shekai Mills-Knight is perhaps the name that is garnering the most excitement so far in the running back room, and for good reason. The four-star prospect was signed out of the Baylor School (Chattanooga, Tennessee) in the Rebels’ 2025 recruiting class, and his size and speed can translate well to the SEC.

There have also been some transfer additions that could make an impact for the Rebels next fall. Kewan Lacy didn’t see much action during his freshman year at Missouri, but Ole Miss was in on his high school recruitment late in the process, and he wound up in Oxford anyway, after hitting the portal in December.

Jordon Simmons (Akron) and Trey Hall (Mississippi Gulf Coast C.C.) are also some speedy names who could get touches in this offense.

Wide Receiver

The Rebels had some work to do to replace names like Tre Harris, Jordan Watkins and Juice Wells in the wide receiver room, and it’s safe to say that they’ve succeeded so far in that effort.

Cayden Lee is a returner at wideout who blossomed into a critical SEC target this season, and his load should only grow in 2025. The Rebels also went out and added Oklahoma State transfer De’Zhaun Stribling who put up 52 receptions for 882 yards and six touchdowns in 2024.

Following Stribling’s commitment, Ole Miss went out and added Caleb Odom (Alabama), Deuce Alexander (Wake Forest), Traylon Ray (West Virginia) and, most recently, Trey Wallace (Penn State). Each of these pass catchers brings something unique to the table, whether it be a big-bodied target like Odom or an all-around threat like Wallace.

That’s not even mentioning some key high school signees that the Rebels snagged in this cycle like Caleb Cunningham and Winston Watkins Jr., both of whom could see the field in 2025.