After an extraordinary performance by the Ole Miss offensive line against Missouri, Patrick Kutas earned co-offensive lineman of the week honors. The senior right guard from Memphis, TN, is in his second season with the Rebels after transferring from Arkansas.
Last week, Kutas moved from his traditional right-guard position to center after Brycen Sanders went down. With Sanders listed as questionable on the injury report, there is a non-zero chance that Kutas will return to that role.
It is important to note that Kutas is also listed on the injury report this week, denoted as probable. There is little reason to worry about his availability, though; he participated in practice this week and gave no indication in his press availability that the injury has affected his preparation for Texas.
In his press conference, Kutas emphasized the importance of reps for the offensive line to achieve the goals they set out for themselves ahead of their showdown with the Texas Longhorns.
Preparing for Texas
"Obviously, there's stuff you can do to improve every single day," Kutas said. "The longer we play together and the more reps we get, the more we're just going to gel together even more."
Six games and a bye into the season, Ole Miss's pass coverage has been a bright spot for the Rebels. They rank 10th in sacks given up, with only five. On the ground, the unit has not been as successful, but that could also be attributed to the absence of star running back Kewan Lacy.
Kutas demonstrated a great deal of respect for the Texas front.
"They’re a really talented defense,” Kutas said. "I think it’ll be a really good matchup."
The Texas defense is ranked 29th in total scoring so far this season, allowing 17.8 points per game. The Rebels average 37.5 points per game, putting them at 19th in the country.
Fortunately for Ole Miss, they face an NFL-quality defensive lineman every day in Will Echoles. When asked about what makes Echoles so hard to block, Kutas grinned.
"[Will] is a very large human who moves very fast, he's very smart, and he's very strong," Kutas said. "All of the key attributes you need, he's maxed out in those areas."
Blocking Echoles in practice is great preparation for the Longhorn front. Texas averages 7.75 tackles for loss this season. Even in the absence of star EDGE Colin Simmons, Texas boasts a deep defensive line. 10 different players between edge rushers and inside linemen have recorded a tackle for loss this season.
No matter which position he plays, Kutas is ready to be "physical" this weekend. After the best rushing performance of the season last week, the unit needs to build on that success in a big way.
In the two games in which Ole Miss has rushed for over 160 yards, they have defeated teams by an average of 30 points. Behind Kutas, Kewan, and John David Baker's play-calling, the Rebels look to reach that number against a Texas defense that gives up a meager 106 rushing yards per contest.
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