Ole Miss football quarterback isn't Lane Kiffin's top concern. Listen closely | Toppmeyer
Lane Kiffin knew quarterback questions were coming, so he dived right into his assessment after Ole Miss’ first spring practice Tuesday.
“They all looked good,” Kiffin quickly said of one of the SEC’s spiciest quarterback competitions, which includes incumbent Jaxson Dart and transfers Spencer Sanders and Walker Howard.
How illuminating. Expect more shrouded quarterback assessments from Kiffin, while he prolongs that competition as long as possible.
Listen closely, though, and you’ll hear a coach who faces more pressing concerns than a deep quarterback battle.
Who takes the first snap won’t matter much unless the Rebels improve their defense, which returned only four starters off a wobbly unit.
Kiffin’s most important offseason addition may not be Sanders or Howard or any of the other numerous transfers he reeled in. New defensive coordinator Pete Golding is the fulcrum who will influence whether this season tilts toward mediocrity or a top-half finish in the SEC West.
Why Pete Golding is a central figure this Ole Miss football season
Golding’s inheritance includes a defensive backfield in transition and linebacking corps stripped of top tackler Troy Brown.
On the other hand, personnel change isn’t necessarily a pitfall when you’re aiming to overhaul performance. Kiffin once again loaded up via the transfer portal, including the addition of a few potential starters.
“We have a lot of new pieces in this year to look at and figure out, as well as a brand-new defensive scheme,” Kiffin said. “We have a lot of work to do there.”
That cannot be overstated.
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The Rebels didn't rank in the top half of the SEC for defense in any of Kiffin’s first three seasons.
The last time we saw the Ole Miss defense, Texas Tech stuffed it into the shredder. That occurred one month after Arkansas ran through the Rebels as if they were literally frozen to the turf on a cold night in Fayetteville. Heck, even Texas A&M’s stagnant offense found a pulse against Ole Miss.
The caution flag had appeared in September, when the Rebels allowed 457 yards to Tulsa.
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The defense supplied a herculean performance in a near upset of Alabama. Otherwise, it became an anchor against most SEC opponents.
The cracks that need caulked extend beyond the defense.
For instance, who will become Ole Miss’ top receivers after the departures of Malik Heath and Jonathan Mingo? Which running back will complement to Quinshon Judkins? And, yes, who wins this quarterback battle? Whoever does must showcase better decision-making and consistency than Dart exhibited during his first season at Ole Miss, when he displayed tantalizing dual-threat ability but made too many mistakes.
Kiffin’s track record for quarterback development and offensive stewardship are proven enough that I trust a capable offense will emerge.
But, he needs a hand on defense.
Ole Miss shifting away from 3-2-6 defensive scheme?
Golding won’t go down as Nick Saban’s best defensive coordinator … or his second-best defensive coordinator. At Ole Miss, he’ll find less talent, but he won’t be required to live up to the inimitable Kirby Smart. Here, he can start by crafting a defense that can limit Arkansas to fewer than 700 yards, something Ole Miss could not do last season.
Golding’s predecessor, Chris Partridge, resurfaced as Michigan’s linebackers coach, and Partridge sounds glad to be rid of the 3-2-6 scheme he operated for Kiffin.
“The journey of Ole Miss was interesting,” Partridge said on the Wolverines’ MGoBlue podcast.
Partridge hesitated before settling on “interesting.” In this case, I wouldn’t interpret “interesting” as an endorsement.
“Our head coach fell in love with this specific defense that I had never had really any previous knowledge of,” Partridge continued.
“That was interesting. That was stressful at times. … I was brought up mostly in a four-down (linemen) or multiple front.”
Translation: Hey, don’t blame me. Blame that wonky scheme.
In fact, Ole Miss addressed both its personnel and its scheme.
Line coach Randall Joyner is the only defensive assistant back, and Kiffin indicated schematic change is in underway.
Golding operated 4-2-5, 3-3-5 or 3-4 schemes at Alabama. Kiffin hasn’t specified which alignment Ole Miss will use, other than to say the Rebels are shaking things up.
“We’ve seen this system work at a lot of places,” Kiffin said, “and now we’ve just got to get our guys to learn it.”
And then they must execute it, because Ole Miss’ starting quarterback can’t be asked to tackle a blur of Razorbacks.
Blake Toppmeyer is an SEC Columnist for the USA TODAY Network. Email him at BToppmeyer@gannett.com and follow him on Twitter @btoppmeyer.
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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY NETWORK: Lane Kiffin: Ole Miss football quarterback isn't top concern. This is
