By Matt Osborne
SouthernPigskin.com

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Whereas the offensive success of the vast majority of conference teams this fall will rest almost squarely on the shoulder of their respective quarterbacks, Ole Miss is currently more concerned with its other offensive position groups.

There is a reason that quarterback has been called the most important position in all of sports. No other single player has as much of an impact on the outcome of a game as does a quarterback on the gridiron.

It is undoubtedly with that sentiment in mind that many members of the media are projecting such great things for the Ole Miss Rebels heading into the 2016 college football regular season.

Ole Miss signal caller Chad Kelly is without he question the leagues best and most proven quarterback heading into the fall. In his first season as a starter in 2015, Kelly took the SEC by storm, completing over 65 percent of his passing attempts while tossing for 4,042 yards, 31 touchdowns and 13 interceptions. He also added an additional 500 yards and ten scores on the ground, earning a second-team All-SEC nod in the process.

There is little doubt that Kelly will be named the preseason first-team all-conference quarterback when the official list is released on Friday afternoon, especially with the overall lack of proven commodities at the position within the conference.

The presence of the leagues best quarterback in a year that appears to be sorely lacking in quality play under center certainly has given Ole Miss players and coaches extra confidence that the program can contend in the always-loaded SEC West this fall.

cI love Chad Kelly’s work ethic,d head coach Hugh Freeze said suring his opening remarks at SEC Media Days. cHe is a gym rat and studies more film than probably the coaches do. He’s going lead our football team very, very well.d

But even with the comforting reassurance that comes with having the conferences best quarterback heading into the start of the season, the Rebels still have plenty of questions which must be answered on the offensive side of the football if they have genuine aspirations of making an appearance in Atlanta come December.

In many respects, Ole Miss finds itself in a situation which is very similar to the one rival Mississippi State faced at this time last season.

Coming off of an extremely successful campaign the year prior, the Bulldogs entered the 2015 season with the best quarterback in the SEC in Dak Prescott.

Unfortunately, though, the Bulldogs did not have many other proven offensive pieces to surround their talented signal caller. Prescott would go on to earn first-team All-SEC honors after an exceptional senior season, but Mississippi State would win just four games in conference play and would fail to emerge as a legitimate contender.

With just three offensive starters 3 Kelly, tight end Evan Engram and receiver Quincy Adeboyejo 3 set to return this fall, Ole Miss is hoping to avoid a similar fate to the one which Mississippi State experienced a season ago.

Overall, the weapons in the passing game still look very good for Kelly. Engram is widely considered to be one of the top pass-catching tight ends in college football, while Adeboyejo, Damoreea Stringfellow and Markell Pack combine to form a talented trio out wide.

cWe have a lot more weapons than we did last year,d Kelly said of the skill players surrounding him on offense. cAs long as the young guys come along and dont think too much, I think well be really good.d

The major concerns for the Rebels lie up front, where the team loses all five offensive line starters from last fall.

Even so, Kelly remains confident in the big bodies that will be tasked with keeping him upright and healthy this fall.

cIm notd, Kelly responded when asked at SEC Media Days in Hoover whether he was concerned about the fact that no starters return along the offensive line. cWhen Laremy Tunsil was out [in 2015] a lot of those guys were able to step in and help us win games. I think those young guys are ready to step in and fill those shoes.d

Though it did not get the publicity it deserved, Ole Miss offensive line was quietly one of the better units in the SEC in 2015. The Rebels averaged over five yards per carry on the ground and gave up just 19 sacks to opponents over the course of 13 contests. Both of those figures placed the Rebels near the top of the conference in the respective statistical categories.

With such proven talent and experience at the offensive skill positions, it is tough to see the Rebels taking a major step backwards in offensive production in 2016.

But that does not mean that an experienced offensive line could not hinder offensive progress if a young unit does not come together and play at a high level pretty quickly.

Whereas the offensive success of the vast majority of conference teams this fall will rest almost squarely on the shoulder of their respective quarterbacks, Ole Miss is currently more concerned with its other offensive position groups.

If Kelly can get the sort of support he needs, the Rebels have a legitimate chance to finally realize their goals of reaching the SEC Championship Game under Hugh Freeze.