I know we are all disappointed in the 8-4 finish and only signing 12 High Schoolers last week. I personally think much of that lies on Lane, but I also believe it’s not likely to repeat itself. Lane is now making so much money and our NIL is to a point where I think he is going to have to win the SEC to get a better offer-and if he does that, we will all be happy, regardless of anything else.
Looking forward, I doubt we will see a repeat of our portal success from last year, but I also don’t think we need as much help. Last year we had 11 seniors who had no remaining eligibility who were at least part-time starters during the year:
LB Mark Robinson
S. Jake Springer
CB Deane Leonard
DB Jaylon Jones
DE Sam Williams
LB Lakia Henry
C. Orlando Umana
WR Jahcour Pearson
WR Braylon Sanders
WR Dontario Drummond
TE. Chase Rogers-may have had COVID year left, but graduated and gave up football
We then had five players with remaining eligibility who opted to go to the NFL:
LB Chance Cambell
QB Matt Coral
RB Jarion Ealy
RB Snoop Conner
OG Ben Brown
And, finally, we had 3/4 players who transferred to other Power 5 programs:
DB Keidron Smith Kentucky
RB Henry Parrish Miami
LB MoMo Sonoga Louisville
QB JR Plumlee UCF-not Power 5 yet
By comparison, this year we only have six players who started during the year who have completed their eligibility:
DE Tavarius Robinson
LB Troy Brown
S Otis Reese
WR Malik Heath
PK Jonathan Cruz
And as of today, we only have three starters with remaining eligibility who appear definitely headed to the NFL draft:
OG Nik Broeker
WR Jonathan Mingo
S AJ Finley
And, finally, not a single player who has entered the portal has committed to or signed with another Power 5 program. Moreover, none are ranked in the top 200 transfers in On3’s rankings.
So, last year we were replacing 20 players who played regularly, while as of today, it’s just nine counting Miles Battle who is still in the Portal. In other words, if we can recruit back the players not in the Portal or declared for the NFL, we are starting in a much stronger position than last year. We have also already replaced two of the biggest departing contributors, Malik Heath and Jonathan Mingo, with arguably as talented replacements in Tre Harris and Chris Marshall, both of whom were ranked in the top 25 in On3 and the Athletic’s portal rankings. We also have a CB in John Saunders who is top 100 in On3’s rankings, thus replacing Miles Battle. And we have signed Caden Davis to replace Cruz, in addition to the expected return of Caden Costa-two kickers named Caden, how weird is that LOL?
The point being, if we can retain what we have, we don’t have that many dire needs. So the coaches can afford to be picky. Ideally, we could bring in 1-2 OL, but a top priority has to be retaining what we have as Auburn is tampering with all of them. If Evans comes back, and I think there’s a very good chance, RB is solid. WR also looks better than last year when you add in Ayden Williams and hopefully some improvement from what’s already here. I know we would like a big blocking TE, which was why the kid from Ark State really did not fit our priorities, but I think we are happy with the three we have from a receiving standpoint. Of course, we need another QB, but if Dart gets hurt, we were probably in bad shape, even if we had not lost Marcel.
On defense, we would obviously like 4-5 DEs, LBers and safeties, but with the addition of Perkins and Jean Baptiste, we are probably at least even with where we are right now at LB. And if we do add Haulcy, he could fill one of the safety spots.
Hopefully, we see another 10 or so portal additions to make up for our small HS class, but we are starting January 2023 in far better shape than we were in January 2022. We need some upgrades, no doubt, and I know for a fact that there are a number of players Ole Miss is tracking that are waiting until after Bowl season to enter the portal, but priority number one should probably be recruiting back what we already have. If we do that, the schedule may be tougher in 2023, but I don’t really see a drop-off in talent. And if the portal season this year comes close to last year, we will have upgraded big-time.
Looking forward, I doubt we will see a repeat of our portal success from last year, but I also don’t think we need as much help. Last year we had 11 seniors who had no remaining eligibility who were at least part-time starters during the year:
LB Mark Robinson
S. Jake Springer
CB Deane Leonard
DB Jaylon Jones
DE Sam Williams
LB Lakia Henry
C. Orlando Umana
WR Jahcour Pearson
WR Braylon Sanders
WR Dontario Drummond
TE. Chase Rogers-may have had COVID year left, but graduated and gave up football
We then had five players with remaining eligibility who opted to go to the NFL:
LB Chance Cambell
QB Matt Coral
RB Jarion Ealy
RB Snoop Conner
OG Ben Brown
And, finally, we had 3/4 players who transferred to other Power 5 programs:
DB Keidron Smith Kentucky
RB Henry Parrish Miami
LB MoMo Sonoga Louisville
QB JR Plumlee UCF-not Power 5 yet
By comparison, this year we only have six players who started during the year who have completed their eligibility:
DE Tavarius Robinson
LB Troy Brown
S Otis Reese
WR Malik Heath
PK Jonathan Cruz
And as of today, we only have three starters with remaining eligibility who appear definitely headed to the NFL draft:
OG Nik Broeker
WR Jonathan Mingo
S AJ Finley
And, finally, not a single player who has entered the portal has committed to or signed with another Power 5 program. Moreover, none are ranked in the top 200 transfers in On3’s rankings.
So, last year we were replacing 20 players who played regularly, while as of today, it’s just nine counting Miles Battle who is still in the Portal. In other words, if we can recruit back the players not in the Portal or declared for the NFL, we are starting in a much stronger position than last year. We have also already replaced two of the biggest departing contributors, Malik Heath and Jonathan Mingo, with arguably as talented replacements in Tre Harris and Chris Marshall, both of whom were ranked in the top 25 in On3 and the Athletic’s portal rankings. We also have a CB in John Saunders who is top 100 in On3’s rankings, thus replacing Miles Battle. And we have signed Caden Davis to replace Cruz, in addition to the expected return of Caden Costa-two kickers named Caden, how weird is that LOL?
The point being, if we can retain what we have, we don’t have that many dire needs. So the coaches can afford to be picky. Ideally, we could bring in 1-2 OL, but a top priority has to be retaining what we have as Auburn is tampering with all of them. If Evans comes back, and I think there’s a very good chance, RB is solid. WR also looks better than last year when you add in Ayden Williams and hopefully some improvement from what’s already here. I know we would like a big blocking TE, which was why the kid from Ark State really did not fit our priorities, but I think we are happy with the three we have from a receiving standpoint. Of course, we need another QB, but if Dart gets hurt, we were probably in bad shape, even if we had not lost Marcel.
On defense, we would obviously like 4-5 DEs, LBers and safeties, but with the addition of Perkins and Jean Baptiste, we are probably at least even with where we are right now at LB. And if we do add Haulcy, he could fill one of the safety spots.
Hopefully, we see another 10 or so portal additions to make up for our small HS class, but we are starting January 2023 in far better shape than we were in January 2022. We need some upgrades, no doubt, and I know for a fact that there are a number of players Ole Miss is tracking that are waiting until after Bowl season to enter the portal, but priority number one should probably be recruiting back what we already have. If we do that, the schedule may be tougher in 2023, but I don’t really see a drop-off in talent. And if the portal season this year comes close to last year, we will have upgraded big-time.
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