OXFORD ― The lessons from Ole Miss football's appearance at SEC Media Days last week ranged from important to nonsensical.
We learned that managing some loud preseason hype is going to be critical for Lane Kiffin's team in 2024. We also learned that quarterback Jaxson Dart really doesn't like the rendering Electronic Arts generated to be his profile image in the new college football video game.
"It's trash," Dart said with a laugh.
There were a few key questions that went unanswered, though, and will be top of mind as the Rebels prepare for preseason practice.
No clarity on Deion Smith's Ole Miss football status
Kiffin was asked whether he expected to have junior college wide receiver signee Deion Smith available when preseason practice starts.
"I don't know," he said.
Smith, who posted a photo on his Instagram from Oxford over the weekend, committed to Ole Miss on Dec. 4. The Holmes Community College wideout is considered the top junior college player in the 2024 cycle by the 247Sports Composite.
He was not listed among a group of newcomers introduced by Ole Miss earlier this summer, and was still not on the Rebels' roster as of Monday morning. Smith racked up 1,063 receiving yards for Holmes last season. He began his collegiate career at LSU.
Ole Miss football's offensive line remains somewhat of a mystery
The Rebels added some serious size to their offensive line this offseason in a bid to "look better getting off the bus," as Kiffin put it.
After Georgia blew the Rebels out late last season in Athens, Kiffin decided Ole Miss needed to change the profile of athlete it had access to — particularly in the trenches.
"We as coaches got to recruit better in our thinking and evaluations and so forth," he said. "One of the big things was... really with Alabama and Georgia, there was a length and size issue.
"You know, both Kirby (Smart) and coach (Nick) Saban, you learn from Coach Saban there is an impact profile they recruit to (in terms) of size. That's not easy to do everywhere. Everybody would love to have every player 6-foot-5. I do think we addressed that and I do think in that game it was glaring."
The Rebels landed four offensive linemen out of the transfer portal: Julius Buelow (6-8, 315 pounds), Diego Pounds (6-6, 330), Gerquan Scott (6-4, 330) and Nate Kalepo (6-6, 325).
They also return three starters from a year ago in Micah Pettus, Jeremy James and Caleb Warren.
After a spring practice period that kept many of those pieces sidelined because o injury and ended with a spring game format that didn't include any offensive line play whatsoever, it's difficult to know where all of those pieces fit. And Kiffin didn't have much to say toward that end last week.
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What is Ole Miss football's quarterback depth situation?
Last week marked Kiffin's first appearance in front of local media since quarterback Austin Simmons suffered a UCL sprain on the baseball diamond this spring.
Simmons opted against Tommy John Surgery, which is sometimes used to address UCL injuries and comes with a recovery time of nine to 12 months. Instead, he chose to rehab the injured elbow, Ole Miss baseball coach Mike Bianco said in May.
Neither Kiffin nor Bianco has said whether he'll be available for the upcoming football season — and Kiffin wasn't asked about it at SEC Media Days. Simmons did post a video that showed him throwing a football in late June, though.
If Simmons can play this fall, is there a world in which he can challenge Walker Howard for the backup quarterback job? With Dart moving on following the 2024 season, the line of quarterback succession is of particular interest.
David Eckert covers Ole Miss for the Clarion Ledger. Email him at deckert@gannett.com or reach him on Twitter @davideckert98.
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