Success at any level of football requires having a good-to-great offensive line.
Almost every College Football Playoff team had an offensive line that ranked inside the top 25 of PFSN’s offensive line rankings. The two teams competing in Super bowl LX (Seattle and New England) have solid offensive lines and imagine what Houston would’ve looked like with a better offensive line.
Part of the reason for Ole Miss’s success in 2025 was the play of its offensive line. In two playoff games against Georgia and Miami, the Rebels gave up three total sacks. The Hurricanes’ ferocious pass rush managed just one sack and one tackle for a loss.
Continuing that in 2026 will be important for Ole Miss in a season many will be watching closely as it’ll be the first full season without Lane Kiffin and with Pete Golding as a first-time head coach.
The Rebels had some work to do in the transfer portal to achieve that goal.
Starting offensive tackles Diego Pounds and Jayden Williams exhausted their eligibility and are off the bigger things. Replacing them became a priority, but the interior offensive line is already set.
Delano Townsend, Brycen Sanders and Patrick Kutas are all returning to Ole Miss next season and figure to continue playing their positions at guard (Townsend and Kutas) and center (Sanders).
Predicting who the other starters will be isn’t as clear cut. One obvious candidate would’ve been Devin Harper, but he’s now at LSU.
Ole Miss has signed Carius Curne (LSU), Tory Everett (Oklahoma), Enoch Wangoy (Florida) and Tommy Kinsler IV (Miami) in the transfer portal.
Predicting 2026 Starters
Will the Rebels’ next starting tackles come from that group? Or will it be one of the reserve linemen already on the roster?
Here’s one writer’s best, way-too-early guess at what the Rebels’ starting lineup will look like:
- LT: Carius Curne
- LG: Delano Townsend
- C: Brycen Sanders
- RG: Patrick Kutas
- RT: Tommy Kinsler IV
The interior three positions are easy picks. Kinsler is slated at RT because that’s the position Kinsler’s uncle told 247Sports’ Brian Dohn the Rebels had him penciled in at.
Curne was one of the highest-rated interior offensive linemen in the transfer portal. He was good enough to earn a few starts at LSU, so he’s the pick for left tackle with the thought being he has an entire offseason to make the transition to tackle.
Terez Davis is another name to consider for a starting position on the offensive line. The former Maryland Terrapin stared two games at left tackle in 2024, including against then-No. 1 Oregon.
But no matter who ends in the starting lineup, Ole Miss should feel good about the direction its offensive line is headed for 2026.
