Ole Miss may have spent the offseason sorting out its offensive tackle spots, but by Week 6, Connor Howes had pushed his way into the conversation at right tackle and, for now, into the lineup.
The sophomore’s rise has been gradual, then sudden. Tommy Kinsler IV opened the year as the Week 1 starter against Louisville after a summer battle that also included Carius Curne, but Howes kept climbing once August rolled around.
When Kinsler left late in the fourth quarter against Louisville with a lower body injury, Howes stepped in and ended up playing a key role in Ole Miss’ game-winning drive in Nashville. From there, the two rotated across the next stretch of games against Charlotte, LSU and Florida before Howes handled every snap at right tackle in the first half and most of the last two quarters against Vanderbilt last weekend.
Even with that recent run, Howes knows nothing is permanent. He described the right tackle job as an everyday fight.
“Just been competing every day. Tommy came in, we were battling for the spot.
It was just a battle every day and just come to see who comes out on top,” Howes said. “It’s just day-by-day.
We continue to battle it out every day just like today in practice. We rotate reps and it’s just whoever has the better week.”
For Howes, the biggest growth came long before he was taking meaningful snaps on offense. As a true freshman in 2025, he barely saw the field, but the work against Ole Miss’ defense on scout team gave him a clear picture of where he had to improve.
“I just think being on scout team helped me out a lot,” Howes said of his freshman season, Tuesday afternoon. “Going against Kam (Franklin) and all them guys last year - big Zay (Zxavian Harris) and Will (Echoles) every day made me who I am today.
Just going against some guys developed me and I think that coming into the offseason helped me out a lot because I knew where I needed to be and I knew where I was at. (Knowing) what I lacked and what I needed to get better at.”
He also pointed to the parts of his game that traveled with him from high school and the areas still asking for more polish.
“Coming from a Wing-T offense in high school, I’d say I run (block) pretty well. Down blocks and what not, all that stuff.
I think my hands are good in the pass pro. I need to work on getting my pad level down, settling bull rushes and just being able to counter their moves - like spin moves.
I’d say the little things is what I need to work on most.”
That learning curve is part of the deal when a lineman is getting real game reps for the first time. Howes has felt the ups and downs, but he said the weekly film work has made those lessons easier to absorb.
“I just think getting some play time this year has helped out a lot because I’ve been able to watch film on Sundays and know what I do right, what I do wrong,” Howes explained. “Know what I grade out at and know ‘Hey, you struggled getting your hat inside on cutoffs’ or ‘you struggled setting the bull rushes’. Actually getting live reps and understanding what I struggle with helps me out for the next week.”
The bigger picture for Ole Miss’ line has been about staying connected. Howes said the unit’s comfort with one another keeps growing through reps, walkthroughs and extra time together, with support from teammates along the way.
“It’s just been taking reps with each other. One of the main things in football is being able to be comfortable to the guy next to you.
I’m blessed to have Kutas right next to me and everybody so on down the line and Terez (Davis) helps me out a lot at left (tackle),” Howes added. “I think it’s just being able to be comfortable with the guy next to you and taking reps and reps and reps and the walkthroughs we do.
Coming up and getting extra meeting time and everything that is the process to become great.”
That comfort will be tested Saturday when Missouri comes to Oxford with one of the country’s more punishing defenses. The Tigers are giving up 17 points per game and 76.6 rushing yards per game, numbers that rank fourth nationally and second in the SEC, while also piling up 18 sacks and nine takeaways.
Missouri’s pressure starts up front, where Daeden Hopkins leads the team with seven sacks and Donta Simpson has five from the defensive tackle spot. Howes isn’t backing away from what’s coming.
“They’re gonna be good,” Howes began. “They got some dudes, but at the end of the day I think we’ve got some dudes and I think we’ve been able to put it on tape through Week 6. I think it’ll be a good match, but we got some dudes and so do they.”
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