Ole Miss football trio of Lane Kiffin, John Rhys Plumlee and Elijah Moore could be lethal

Ole Miss football could have a lethal trio on offense in 2020

Ole Miss football is entering another rebuilding mode, but with Lane Kiffin as the foreman, things could be built quicker than anyone really expected.

As one of the top offensive minds in the nation, Kiffin has a way of extracting the best from his given offensive weapons and exploiting the worst of the defenses he faces. He demonstrated this ability in his last two positions as the FAU head coach and the Alabama offensive coordinator.

The visored genius will have two pretty potent offensive weapons at his disposal with Ole Miss this year in quarterback John Rhys Plumlee and wide receiver Elijah Moore.

Plumlee made a memorable debut in the 4th quarter against Cal last season and nearly rallied the Rebels to a win, starting with a 47-yard run on his first snap starting things off. Gene Chizik has him rated as one of the top five quarterbacks in the SEC this year, per 247 Sports.

Receiver Elijah Moore may be more well-known for the celebration felt all over Mississippi last season in the Egg Bowl, when he did his best impression of a dog relieving himself in the end zone. Not only did this cost the Rebels the game, but it may have been the catalyst that sent former head coach Matt Luke packing.

But all that happened in 2019, and (as we’re all very aware) 2020 is a much different year. If there’s any year in which Ole Miss could shock the world and suddenly become a threat in the SEC West, it’s this year.

And Lane Kiffin is just the coach to do it.

Ole Miss football changing gears

For a number of years under former-former head coach Hugh Freeze and the aforementioned Matt Luke, the Rebels were more well-known (when known at all) for defense. The “Land Shark” defense was all the rage under Freeze, and began to bounce back to that form in Luke’s final season.

But Lane Kiffin loves offense. He loves the spread the defense out. He loves to push the ball downfield. And he loves, loves loves to see himself celebrating touchdowns on camera.

In 2020, Kiffin has a quarterback who is as true dual-threat as they come, and a wide receiver who averaged just under 17 yards per catch last season, and who hauled in 11 touchdown passes in what was an overall down year for Ole Miss on offense.

Things could get interesting in a hurry.

Granted, Plumlee and Moore aren’t the only two offensive studs Kiffin has in his arsenal, but they’re certainly the two who will fit what he wants to do on offense the best. You give him a quarterback who can rush for just as many if not more yards than he passes is, and who knows how to drop dimes when called upon to do so, and you’ve got yourself a happy Kiffin.

Moore just wants to redeem himself for the piss-poor showing-out in the Egg Bowl and help his team to a winning season. He and Plumlee really developed a rhythm and connection last season, something that looks to continue under the watchful and expert eye of Kiffin.

Ole Miss still has a lot of work to do, especially on defense, having given up 26.5 points per game and 417 yards per game in 2019, but if the Rebels take a major step up on offense the defense will have time to catch up.

Kiffin, Plumlee, Moore. This could be a trio who shakes things up in the SEC and gets the recruiting pendulum in the state of Mississippi swinging squarely in the direction of Oxford.