Arkansas-Ole Miss position-by-position comparison
The Arkansas Razorbacks (2-3, 0-2 SEC) are set to take on the No. 16 Ole Miss Rebels (4-1, 1-1 SEC) at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium in Oxford, Mississippi, on Saturday at 6:30 p.m. CT.
Ole Miss head coach Lane Kiffin has led the Rebels to a solid start to the 2023 season with wins over Mercer (73-7), Tulane (37-20), Georgia Tech (48-23) and LSU (55-49). Their lone loss was to Alabama (24-10).
Head coach Sam Pittman got the Razorbacks off to a 2-0 start with wins over Western Carolina and Kent State, but they've lost three straight to BYU, LSU and Texas A&M.
Though the Razorbacks and Rebels face off every season, the transfer portal has made it more difficult to keep up with where the players you know are at.
For this reason, HawgBeat has you covered with a position-by-position breakdown between the two programs to see who has the advantage where...
Note: All players listed are starters or backups on each respective team depth chart.
Quarterback
Players:
Arkansas: KJ Jefferson - 6'3", 247 lbs.
85/125, 65.9%, 1050 yards, 10 TDs, 4 INTs, 158.6 passer rating, 125 rushing yards, rushing TD
Ole Miss: Jaxson Dart - 6'2", 220 lbs.
91/142, 64.1%, 1485 yards, 11 TDs, 2 INTs, 174.7 passer rating, 269 rushing yards, 4 rushing TDs
If you had asked me to choose between these two signal callers at the beginning of the season, I would've picked Jefferson without second thought. But with a solid sample size of playing time, the decision gets a bit murkier.
Everyone knows how talented Jefferson is, there's no doubt about that. However, in the context of the rest of the offense, Dart has been and could continue to be the more successful of the two quarterbacks in this game and throughout the rest of the year.
Give me the guy that's playing in a system designed for his talents.
Pick: Jaxson Dart, Ole Miss
Running backs
Players:
Arkansas: Raheim Sanders - 6'2", 242 lbs.
26 attempts, 76 yards, 2 TDs, 4 receptions, 32 yards
Ole Miss: Quinshon Judkins - 5'11", 210 lbs.
90 attempts, 378 yards, 5 TDs, 9 receptions, 84 yards, receiving TD
The two Preseason All-SEC First-Team running backs face off for the second season in a row. Last year in this matchup, Sanders ran the ball 24 times for 232 yards and three touchdowns. Judkins was equally as impressive, adding 214 yards and a touchdown on 24 carries of his own.
After suffering a knee injury in the season opener against Western Carolina, Sanders was left to watch the Razorbacks' struggling run game from the sidelines until last week. Though extremely talented, a rusty running back behind a less-than-stellar offensive line isn't worthy of my selection.
Pick: Quinshon Judkins, Ole Miss
Wide receivers
Players:
Arkansas: Andrew Armstrong/Isaac TeSlaa/Jaedon Wilson
Average Height/Weight: 6'3.75", 205 lbs.
48 receptions, 655 yards, 6 TDs
Ole Miss: Tre Harris, Dayton Wade, Jordan Watkins
Average Height/Weight: 5'11.75", 186 lbs.
68 receptions, 1158 yards, 9 TDs
Arkansas' crop of wide receivers are bigger and taller, but Ole Miss' have far more production because of their elite playmaking ability.
Just to speak to the talent in the starting group, backup receiver and UTSA transfer Zakhari Franklin has received little playing time despite having back-to-back 1000+ yard seasons and 27 touchdowns from 2021-22 with the Roadrunners.
The Razorbacks don't have that kind of depth and they don't have the top-end talent that the Rebels have.
Pick: Ole Miss
Tight ends
Players:
Arkansas: Nathan Bax, Var'Keyes Gumms, Tyrus Washington
Average Height/Weight: 6'3.75", 246 lbs.
1 reception, 2 yards
Ole Miss: Caden Prieskorn, Kyirin Heath, Hudson Wolfe
Average Height/Weight: 6'5.25", 240 lbs.
9 receptions, 140 yards
If Luke Hasz hadn't broken his clavicle against Texas A&M, this pick would easily go to Arkansas. But even though the Rebels haven't thrown their tight ends the ball much to start the season, they have more production, size and blocking skills than the Hogs do.
Pick: Ole Miss
Offensive line
Players:
Arkansas: Devon Manuel/Brady Latham/Beaux Limmer/Joshua Braun/Patrick Kutas
Average Height/Weight: 6'6", 318 lbs.
Ole Miss: Victor Curne/Quincy McGee/Caleb Warren/Jeremy James/Micah Pettus
Average Height/Weight: 6'5", 323 lbs.
The biggest gripe amongst the fanbase in regards to Arkansas' offense has been the offensive line. Poor pass protection, penalties, and lack of push in the run game have spelled disaster for an offense led by KJ Jefferson and Raheim Sanders.
On the flip side, Ole Miss' offensive front looked more than capable against a talented LSU defensive line. The Rebels' front line has allowed just 10 sacks while paving the way for the fourth-best rushing offense in the SEC (180.8 yards per game).
This pick has as much to do with the quality of Ole Miss' offensive line as it does the ineptitude of Arkansas'.
Pick: Ole Miss
Defensive line
Players:
Arkansas: Landon Jackson/Eric Gregory/Taurean Carter/Trajan Jeffcoat/John Morgan III/Keivie Rose/Cameron Ball/Zach Williams/Anthony Booker Jr.
Average Height/Weight: 6'4", 297 lbs.
75 TOT, 21.5 TFL, 10 SKS
Ole Miss: JJ Pegues/Stephon Wynn Jr./Jared Ivey/Joshua Harris/Isaac Ukwu/Akelo Stone/Jamond Gordon/Zxavian Harris
Average Height/Weight: 6'3.5", 297.5 lbs.
89 TOT, 14.5 TFL, 7 SKS
Both of these defensive lines are in the middle of the pack of the SEC, but are also improvements from past seasons.
In two SEC games against Alabama and LSU, the Ole Miss defensive line totaled 32 tackles, 3.5 tackles for loss and a sack while allowing 354 rushing yards on 82 attempts for a 4.3 yard per carry average.
Arkansas' defensive front recorded 22 total tackles, 3.5 tackles for loss and 1.5 sacks against LSU and Texas A&M while allowing 393 rushing yards on 68 attempts for a 5.8 yard per carry average.
When the units are this even, give me the one that gets to the quarterback more often.
Pick: Arkansas
Linebackers
Players:
Arkansas: Chris Paul Jr./Jaheim Thomas/Antonio Grier
Average Height/Weight: 6'2", 234 lbs.
87 TOT, 3.5 TFL, 4 SKS, INT
Ole Miss: Cedric Johnson/Khari Coleman/Jeremiah Jean-Baptiste
Average Height/Weight: 6'2.25", 238 lbs.
59 TOT, 5 TFL, 4 SKS, FF
Arkansas' run-stopping duo of Thomas and Paul rank second and ninth, respectively, on the SEC's total tackle list. All three of the Razorbacks' linebackers are excellent pass rushers, with an average Pro Football Focus pass rush grade of 81.9 on 53 snaps.
Coleman and Jean-Baptiste have been solid for Ole Miss, while Johnson has struggled in his new role in Pete Golding's defense.
Pick: Arkansas
Defensive backs
Players:
Arkansas: Dwight McGlothern/Jaheim Singletary/Lorando Johnson/Hudson Clark/Jayden Johnson/Alfahiym Walcott/Jaylon Braxton
Average Height/Weight: 6'1.5", 194 lbs.
102 TOT, 5 TFL, 13 PD, 5 INT, 2 FF
Ole Miss: Zamari Walton/ Deantre Prince/Trey Washington/Daijahn Anthony/John Saunders Jr./Demarko Williams/Ladarius Tennison
Average Height/Weight: 5'11.75", 194 lbs.
129 TOT, 7 TFL, SCK, 13 PD, 3 INT, 2 FF
Neither team has been great in pass coverage, but Arkansas' unit has fared better than Ole Miss' with 227.0 yards allowed per game compared to the Rebels' 263.8 yards per game.
In two games against Alabama and LSU, the Ole Miss defense gave up a combined 639 yards through the air with five passing touchdowns. Versus LSU and Texas A&M, Arkansas allowed 530 passing yards and five passing touchdowns.
Something else to keep in mind is the health of McGlothern. The top cornerback for the Razorbacks suffered a concussion against the Aggies and may not play against Ole Miss on Saturday.
"Not as great of progress that I’d like for him to (have)," Sam Pittman said Wednesday. "We still don’t know if he’ll be available on Saturday or not, but I wish he was healing up a little bit faster than what he is."
However, with both teams at full strength, the Hogs' secondary has been just a tad bit better than the Rebels'.
Pick: Arkansas (if fully healthy)
Special teams
Players:
Arkansas: K Cam Little, P Max Fletcher, KR/PR Isaiah Sategna
Average Height/Weight: 6'2", 178 lbs.
19-19 XPA (100%), 7-8 FG (87.5%), 20 PUNTS, 938 YDS (46.9 AVG), PR TD
Ole Miss: K Caden Davis, P Fraser Masin, KR Dayton Wade, PR Jordan Watkins
Average Height/Weight: 6'1", 200 lbs.
21-21 XPA (100%), 9-11 FG (81.8%), 13 PUNTS, 557 YDS (42.8 AVG), PR TD
The Razorbacks have a better field goal percentage, better yards per punt average and Sategna has a higher yards per return average (23.8 on kick returns, 22.4 on punt returns) than Wade (no kick returns this season) or Watkins (15.0 yards per punt).
Pick: Arkansas