Pete Golding has a depth test on his hands at exactly the wrong time.
No. 9 Ole Miss welcomes No. 13 Missouri to Vaught-Hemingway Stadium on Saturday, and the Rebels will have to navigate that matchup without defensive back Edwin Joseph Jr., who was injured in last week’s 52-17 win over Vanderbilt.
Joseph went down late in the third quarter with a high ankle sprain, and yesterday he had a tightrope procedure on the ankle. The expected timeline keeps him out at least through the games against Missouri and Texas.
That creates a real juggling act for Golding, because Joseph has been one of the most versatile pieces in the defense. He’s logged snaps at safety, nickel cornerback and boundary cornerback, which makes replacing him less a simple one-man job and more a puzzle with multiple moving parts.
At nickel cornerback, Ole Miss lists safety Nick Cull as the backup behind Joseph. Cull has been one of the Rebels’ most productive playmakers this season, with two interceptions, the most on the team. He picked off Charlotte and added another late against Vanderbilt.
Safety Sharif Denson could help absorb some of the loss, too, although he’s expected to stay at safety for most of his snaps.
If Golding needs help at Joseph’s safety spot, the options point to Joenel Aguero, Ladarian Clardy and Anthony Robinson III, or some combination of the three. Aguero is the headliner in that group: a former five-star prospect and a three-star transfer from Georgia last offseason. His most notable moment this season, though, came in the loss to Florida when he was ejected for targeting Florida wide receiver Bailey Stockton.
Clardy and Robinson are longer-tenured Rebels. Both are sophomores and both signed with Ole Miss out of high school. Among the pair, Clardy stands out as the one to watch, especially after seeing real defensive snaps as a true freshman in last season’s College Football Playoff.
Joseph’s absence also leaves a hole at boundary cornerback, where he had contributed snaps as well. Ole Miss will be counting on Antonio Kite, Jaylon Braxton and Jayln Crawford to keep things steady on the outside, while four-star true freshman cornerback Barney could be next in line as the fourth boundary corner. He’s been waiting for an opening, stuck behind players like Joseph until now.
So Golding is left with the same challenge everywhere: find dependable snaps from a group that hasn’t had to carry this load yet. And with Missouri - along with star quarterback and former Rebel Austin Simmons - coming to Oxford on Saturday, those extra defensive-back reps won’t come with much easing into it.
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