By Matt Smith
SouthernPigskin.com

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Returning 19 starters from last season’s nine-win squad, Ole Miss is hoping to take another step forward in 2015.

2014 Record: 9-4 (5-3 SEC); lost to TCU in the Peach Bowl

Offensive Returning Starters: 9 (RB Jaylen Walton, WR Laquon Treadwell, WR Cody Core, TE Evan Engram, OT Laremy Tunsil, OT Fahn Cooper, OG Justin Bell, OG Aaron Morris, C Ben Still)

Defensive Returning Starters: 7 (DE C.J. Johnson, DE Fadol Brown, DT Woodrow Hamilton, DT Robert Nkemdiche, NB Tony Connor, CB Mike Hilton, SS Trae Elston)

Practice Opens: Mar. 3

Spring Game: Apr. 11

Spring Storylines

1. Bo Goes

For the first time in the Hugh Freeze era, someone other than Bo Wallace will start at quarterback in the Sept. 5 season opener against Tennessee-Martin. Two third-year sophomores, Devante Kincade and Ryan Buchanan, both return, but the spotlight this spring will squarely be on junior college transfer Chad Kelly. The story of the nephew of NFL legend Jim Kelly is well-documented, from his dismissal at Clemson last spring to an arrest following an incident at a Buffalo bar in December

Physically, Kelly is the real deal. At 63d and 220 pounds, hes bigger than both Kincade and Buchanan, giving him the proverbial leg up in the competition. If Freeze thought he could return to a major bowl with either Kincade or Buchanan, Kelly probably wouldnt be in Oxford. Freeze overlooking Kellys red flags makes it clear that he did not want to roll the dice on either of the two returnees. Kelly cant win any games this spring, but he can win over the locker room. Thats not an easy task for a transfer, as Jacob Coker discovered last year at Alabama. His fit with the team is more important this spring than anything he may do with the ball in his hands.

2. Balancing Act

There are plenty of reasons to extol the coaching of Freeze for his rapid turnaround of the Rebels, but developing an effective running game is not one of them. The Rebels finished No. 75 nationally in rushing offense, an alarming stat given that the team had eight wins by at least two touchdowns and held a lot of leads in the second half. While star left tackle Laremy Tunsil missing the spring with a leg injury may inhibit some progress this spring, this is still the most experienced offensive line Freeze has had at Ole Miss. With a new quarterback, there has to be some semblance of a running game.

The other half of the running game equation is, of course, the running back. While Mark Dodson and ITavius Mathers both elected to transfer after the season, leading rusher Jaylen Walton returns, fresh off of a career high 148 yards in the Egg Bowl win over Mississippi State. Can 61d sophomore Jordan Wilkins be the big-back complement to the undersized Walton? He averaged nearly seven yards a carry last year in 51 attempts and could give the Rebels the physicality that theyve long been looking for.

3. Middle Relief

D.T. Shackelfords long, injury-plagued career at Ole Miss was bookended by nine-win seasons in 2009 and 2014. Now the Rebels must look elsewhere at middle linebacker. Experience is a major concern at the second level, with Shackelford, two-year starter Serderius Bryant and top backup Keith Lewis all gone. 2013 Freshman All-American Denzel Nkemdiche returns after missing six games last season, but he also may be limited in the spring after suffering a broken ankle in October.

That means the spring is Christian Russells time to shine. The junior college transfer from 2014 enters his final college season after finishing much stronger than he started as a junior. Hes a bit undersized at 60d and 235 pounds, but the Rebels have preferred smaller, faster linebackers in defensive coordinator Dave Wommacks 4-2-5 scheme. Ole Miss hasnt recruited well at linebacker under Freeze, so Russell must be an effective piece of the puzzle this season. While Nkemdiche should be back to normal after what was mostly a lost season, Russells importance cant be overstated.

4. Tee Time

Its been more than three years since Tee Shepard enrolled at Notre Dame for the 2012 spring semester. Shepard left the university two months later, eventually landing at Holmes Community College in Mississippi. Ole Miss lured him to Oxford following the 2013 season at Holmes, but another setback last August, this time a torn tendon in his foot, again delayed Shepards major college football debut.

Shepard is healthy and should be a full participant in spring practice 3 good news for a secondary that must replace All-American Senquez Golson and star safety Cody Prewitt. The talk around Oxford last summer was that Shepard would likely have won a starting job had he stayed healthy. There likely wont be any uncertainty this year. While he remains a bit of mystery after playing only one season of football since 2010, this appears to finally be Shepards moment after a long, circuitous road.