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Schedule: The Rebels begin spring practice at 4 p.m. CT on Tuesday and will wrap up with the annual Grove Bowl at noon CT on April 11 in Vaught-Hemingway Stadium. No practices will be held the week of March 8-15 during the school’s spring break. Select practices will be available to the media. The only practice open to the public is the spring game.  What’s new: The coaching staff remained largely intact for the second straight offseason with the exception of former linebackers coach and special teams coordinator Tom Allen, who left to become the defensive coordinator at South Florida. The Rebels stayed in house to find his replacement, promoting Corey Batoon to the role of special teams coordinator. Batoon also will coach the safeties while co-defensive coordinator Dave Wommack moves over to coach the linebackers. Ole Miss was one of just two schools in the SEC to return both its offensive and defensive coordinators.
On the move: To add depth on the offensive line, Ole Miss is moving its quarterback to offensive tackle. Wait, what? You heard right. Jeremy Liggins, who is listed at 6-foot-3, 296 pounds, will play offensive tackle for the first time in his career. Liggins lined up at quarterback last spring and rushed for 21 yards and a touchdown in the spring game. He also served as the team's backup tight end this past season. Maybe Hugh Freeze can take a page out of Bret Bielema’s playbook and let the big guy throw it next fall. We all remember this beauty. New faces: Ole Miss welcomed five early enrollees in January, and the coaches believe all five have a chance to make an immediate impact. Chad Kelly will garner the most attention as he competes for the starting quarterback job, but fellow junior college transfers D.J. Jones, Tony Bridges and Terry Caldwell will be vital in revamping the defense. ESPN 300 offensive lineman Javon Patterson, the lone high school early enrollee, has a chance to start at guard next season. If nothing else, he provides much-needed depth up front. Question marks: The quarterback position is the biggest question mark this spring, but we’ll get to that (see below). There’s also the running game. Can the Rebels finally establish a running game under Freeze? Jaylen Watkins and Jordan Wilkins are back, but depth is a concern after two backs transferred this offseason. Then there’s the defense. Up front, Ole Miss is as good as anybody in the SEC, but how do you replace all-conference players Senquez Golson and Cody Prewitt on the back end? They were as important as anybody to that Landsharks defense a year ago, and now they’re gone. It’s up to the likes of Bridges, Mike Hilton, C.J. Hampton and others to step in and take over. Key battle: For all the “good Bo, bad Bo” talk, Bo Wallace was a solid SEC starting quarterback for three seasons. Now he’s gone, and Ole Miss is left with very little experience at the position. Kelly, the former Clemson quarterback, is the early favorite to win the job, but he’ll have to earn it this spring both on and off the field. He was dismissed from Clemson, and he’s already on thin ice at Ole Miss following an arrest in December. The other contenders, DeVante Kincade and Ryan Buchanon, both played sparingly last year. Kincade fared better, but they both struggled against SEC competition when Wallace went down at Arkansas. Breaking out: It might be a year early considering Ole Miss returns all four starters on the defensive line, but it’s only a matter of time before Fadol Brown breaks out. The former Florida International transfer rotated in last year and finished with 5.5 tackles for loss. The coaches think his time is coming, and the only thing holding him back now is opportunity. Don’t forget about: It has been a long road for cornerback Tee Shepard. He initially signed with Notre Dame in 2012 but left shortly thereafter. After a year in junior college, he signed with Ole Miss last February only to miss the entire 2014 season with a toe injury. This spring, he’s healthy, he’s eligible, and he will finally get his opportunity. The former ESPN 300 prospect has the talent to start for the Rebels, but how will he look after a year off? All eyes on: Speaking of injuries, there’s a certain wide receiver named Laquon Treadwell still recovering from a broken leg he suffered last fall. You might have heard of him. Sources say Treadwell won’t participate this spring despite the video of him running sprints that surfaced last month, but he still will grab headlines. The junior wide receiver is expected to speak to the media Tuesday for the first time since the injury, and you can bet a large contingent of reporters will be on hand.
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