Spring football preview: 5 storylines to watch as Ole Miss takes the field

OXFORD -- Ole Miss opens spring practices on Tuesday afternoon. The Rebels will practice 13 more times, culminating with the April 8 Grove Bowl at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium.

Here are five storylines to follow over the next several weeks as Ole Miss begins on-field preparations for the 2017 season:

1. Mental state

This season won’t end in a bowl game. There won't be a playoff picture to worry about. Postseason rewards, usually a motivation for college football teams, are not forthcoming in 2017.

Finding new motivations will be a challenge for Freeze and Co. The NCAA investigation is finally over, but the saga is far from done. Ole Miss will file its response to its amended notice of allegations in some three months. The NCAA will then take a couple of months to prepare a case summary, and at some point, likely in the fall, the case will go in front of the committee on infractions.

All of that can be quite the distraction. It appeared to be in 2016.

Then there’s all of the talk about Freeze’s future. Will he be the coach when South Alabama invades Oxford in September? Will he be suspended? Those are all questions that will continue to percolate over the next few months, almost certainly for the duration of spring practice. Freeze will try to create a business-as-usual atmosphere on the football fields, but those questions will be omnipresent.

Football can serve as a respite from that storm, and it will likely be up to Freeze to foster a fun environment that separates the players from the controversy, at least for a few hours at a time.

2. Installing a new offense

Dan Werner is gone. Phil Longo is in. If you’re looking for a storyline on offense, there it is.

Freeze has indicated he will let Longo, the former Sam Houston State offensive coordinator, install his offense and handle the bulk of the play-calling. What will that mean in terms of terminology, tempo and style? All of those things could be works in progress this spring.

The Rebels also want to improve dramatically in the red zone, so that will likely be a special point of emphasis this spring.

In other words, there is a lot to get done, and 15 practices aren’t nearly enough to accomplish those goals, but the spring will likely provide a strong launching pad for the installation of Longo’s offense. It will also be interesting to see how difficult it is for Freeze, who loves the play-calling part of coaching football, to restrain himself and let his new offensive coordinator do his thing.

3. Finding a new identity on defense

Ole Miss was abysmal on defense a season ago. Struggles on that side of the football likely cost Ole Miss wins over Florida State and Alabama and set the tone for the disappointing campaign that ended with a five-touchdown loss to Mississippi State in the Egg Bowl.

Dave Wommack has retired and both Corey Batoon and Chris Kiffin left for Florida Atlantic, so the Rebels have a ton of new faces on the defensive side of the football. Wesley McGriff is set to be a defensive coordinator for the first time and the Rebels will have a new system and a new philosophy to learn.

It’s the opportunity of a lifetime for McGriff, who spent several seasons in the NFL before returning to the college game last season at Auburn. Long known as a premier recruiter, McGriff can take a step toward becoming a head coach one day if he can turn around Ole Miss’ defensive performance in 2017.

The suspicion here is McGriff will try to install more of an attacking defensive scheme, one that relies more on reaction and athleticism than complex strategy. At times last season, the Rebels’ defenders appeared to be thinking too much. McGriff will likely look to install a scheme that eliminates that problem.

That won’t be done in 15 practices. However, McGriff can begin a personality makeover of sorts between Tuesday and April 8 and set the tone for the serious work that will be done in August.

4. Solving the front-7 woes of 2016

Ole Miss’ defensive woes in 2016 couldn’t be blamed on Wommack, Kiffin and Batoon alone. The truth is the Rebels’ front-seven underperformed almost all season. The Rebels’ linebacker play was atrocious, so bad in fact that some poor seasons up front were overshadowed.

It’s a critical season for Marquis Haynes’ pro prospects. The Rebels desperately need Breeland Speaks to bounce back with a dominant performance at defensive tackle. Benito Jones could be poised for a breakout sophomore season. Syracuse transfer Qaadir Sheppard has drawn rave reviews as well and could earn major playing time this spring. Junior college transfer Markel Winters will get a long look this spring and could emerge as a big part of the Rebels’ defense if he can handle the adjustment to Division I football with aplomb.

Ole Miss’ linebacker corps simply has to improve if the Rebels are going to be better in 2017. Detric Bing-Dukes has impressed in offseason drills and will get every chance to play a huge role this spring. Early enrollees Breon Dixon and Brenden Williams will also be given every opportunity to shine this spring, as the Rebels’ lack of bodies at the linebacker position was a major focus during the recent recruiting cycle.

5. Skill players have to emerge on offense

Evan Engram is gone. So is Damore’ea Stringfellow. That’s a lot of offensive production that must be replaced.

Shea Patterson was sporadic in his three games as the Rebels’ starter, looking sharp in a win over Texas A&M and then overwhelmed at times in losses to Vanderbilt and Mississippi State. He should begin to live up to his considerable reputation in 2017, but to do so, he’ll need breakout performances from guys such as A.J. Brown, D.K. Metcalf, Tre Nixon and Van Jefferson.

Jordan Wilkins is back after missing last season to an administrative snafu, and he’ll be counted on to provide stability and consistency, at the very least, in the running game. Ole Miss certainly hopes Eric Swinney, who missed almost of 2016 with a knee injury, will be counted on in the fall. This spring, however, the Rebels need to find some sort of production at running back, a position that has haunted Ole Miss during the Freeze era.