Ole Miss is still searching for its answer at right tackle, and that spot could end up shaping the entire 2026 season.
The Rebels bring back quarterback Trinidad Chambliss and running back Kewan Lacy, a pair the source describes as Heisman candidates, but both will only be as effective as the line in front of them allows. That makes the offensive line the biggest swing factor on a roster that otherwise looks loaded at the skill spots.
Center Brycen Sanders is among the returning starters and is expected to be a captain heading into the new year, but the bigger question sits on the edge. Ole Miss lost Diego Pounds and Jayden Williams, both of whom moved on to the NFL, leaving a major hole to patch. Pete Golding tried to address that loss through the transfer portal, but the Rebels still need a dependable answer before the season starts.
Right now, that answer appears to be coming from a camp battle between Carius Curne and Tommy Kinsler IV for the starting right tackle job. It’s an important competition, because the tackle spots do the dirty work that keeps a quarterback upright and away from SEC edge rushers.
For Ole Miss, the stakes are obvious. If the Rebels want Chambliss and Lacy healthy and protected, they have to get this right.
Pressure off the edge is often what turns into hits, and hits are what put quarterbacks at risk. That makes right tackle one of the most consequential positions on the roster.
Kinsler IV arrived from Miami after the Hurricanes’ loss to Indiana in the National Championship. He comes in with experience against elite competition and, as the source notes, the possibility of bringing a vocal presence to the locker room.
Curne, meanwhile, transferred from LSU after the Tigers’ disappointing 2025 season under Brian Kelly. He also arrives with a strong pedigree, having been ranked the 51st player in his high school class.
Ole Miss needs one of them to seize the job by Week 1. If the Rebels don’t settle the position soon, the source suggests the season could open with a rude awakening.
In Other News...
Former Ole Miss TE Suddenly Sits At Center Of A Wild Eligibility Twist
Dae'Quan Wright has landed in a strange new spot for a player already in the NFL, with the Cleveland Browns rookie tight end entering the NCAA transfer portal and becoming the first active pro to do it. For Ole Miss fans, it is the kind of headline that instantly pulls an old name back into the conversation, because the former Rebels tight end is now tied to a legal and procedural shift that could open an unusual path back to college football.
A temporary restraining order from a Louisiana judge has put the NCAAs five-year eligibility clock under new pressure, creating a window for players with professional experience to potentially return to college. Wright is not alone in feeling out the edges of that ruling, as several other former NFL players are expected to explore the portal or pursue eligibility challenges, turning what once looked like a closed chapter into one of the sports most unexpected offseason storylines. [Read more 🡒]
Ole Miss Suddenly Has A High Stakes Eligibility Fight To Watch
A new eligibility dispute has put three former Ole Miss players back in the spotlight, even as they are trying to move on to the next level. DaeQuan Wright, Wydett Williams Jr. and Zxavian Harris were part of a lawsuit against the NCAA that grew out of a federal court injunction for athletes in the 2022 recruiting class, a case tied to the leagues five-for-five plan and the push for a little more flexibility on college eligibility.
For Ole Miss, the practical stakes are easy to see. Wright and Williams are already in NFL training camp after signing as undrafted free agents, while Harris is part of the same legal picture that could reshape whether any of them have a college option waiting if pro football does not stick. It is the kind of ruling that can linger around a program long after the roster has turned over, especially when the next step for former Rebels is still being sorted out. [Read more 🡒]
Ole Miss Is Suddenly Tied To A Portal Situation No One Expected
DaeQuan Wright, a former Ole Miss tight end now with the Cleveland Browns, has become part of an unusual new wrinkle in college football after entering the NCAA transfer portal. The move makes him the first active NFL player to test this path, coming in the wake of a recent court ruling that opened the door for certain former NFL players to pursue college eligibility again.
For Ole Miss, the significance is less about a reunion and more about what this kind of ruling could mean for the roster-building landscape going forward. Pete Golding has already made it clear that timing and roster limits would make it unlikely for the Rebels to add players in this situation, and the NCAA is expected to appeal, leaving the whole development in a state of limbo for now. [Read more 🡒]