The offseason is a time when college stars can let their hair down a little bit and have some fun, either spending time with family and friends or with their teammates. On Thursday, many members of the Ole Miss Rebels team were seen on social media enjoying a fishing trip. This included the current Ole Miss quarterback Jaxson Dart.
"The boys have been out catching some absolute lunkers recently," was the caption shared by Barstool Ole Miss on Instagram, with some photos of their fishing trip.
As well as Dart, the likes of freshman QB Walker Howard and tight end Hudson Wolfe were also present. All of them can be seen holding fish that could be described as "lunkers" (a fishing term for a generally large fish).
Can Ole Miss make a run for the national championship in 2024?
The Ole Miss Rebels are a team on the up, under head coach Lane Kiffin. During the 2023 season, the Rebels finished with an 11-2 record. This was their first 11-win season in program history, and Ole Miss will want to repeat what they did last season in 2024.
Quarterback Jaxson Dart was key to the Rebels' success last year. He threw for 3,364 yards, 23 touchdowns and five interceptions last season.
Luckily for them, he will be returning this year to Oxford. However, if Dart were to get injured, Ole Miss could take a chance and play Walker Howard instead. The freshman QB spent part of the last season with LSU before making the switch to their SEC rivals.
However, Kiffin and his Ole Miss team will be without one key player for 2024, running back Quinshon Judkins, who transferred to the Ohio State Buckeyes. He is likely to be replaced by returning player Ulysses Bentley IV.
Without the star running back, expect Dart to use the talented receivers that the Rebels have (Tre Harris, Juice Wells and Hudson Wolfe to name a few) in order to find those important yards.
Additionally, the SEC as a conference is somewhat different from what it was in 2023. Conference new boys, the Texas Longhorns will be one of the immediate favorites to win the SEC this year due to their emerging team.
As well as the Longhorns, the Rebels will need to be able to keep up with the Georgia Bulldogs (who many say is the SEC's strongest team) and the Alabama Crimson Tide, who even without Nick Saban, should be in the hunt for the title.
There is one saving grace for Ole Miss in 2024, and that is the expanded college football playoffs. This now features 12 teams, and it is something that the Rebels can aim for. Last year, they finished as the ninth-best team in the country, which would give them a spot in the playoffs this year using the expanded model.
If Ole Miss can repeat the success they had in 2023 or at least be nearly as good, then a spot in the playoffs should be a given. From there, anything could happen.
Do you think that the Ole Miss Rebels can make the College Football Playoffs in 2024? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.
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