Caleb Warren feels good about Ole Miss offensive line for 2023

Senior Center Caleb Warren will be the first to admit the transition from guard his first three years to center last season was a “big challenge.”

“There’s so much more to do at center, plus sometimes when a team uses an odd front you have to deal with a head-up nose tackle while your first priority is an accurate snap,” Warren, a 6-5 310-pounder, noted.

So how did Warren grade himself in 2022 in his first year as the Rebel snapper?

“Probably a B,” Warren said. “There are things I did real good and things I had to gradually improve on through the year and continuing into this season.”

The good stuff? He starts with the cohesiveness on the line and his part in that.

“The center has to make the line calls and I thought I communicated well with the guys,” Warren explained. “We were always on the same page and had very few line busts. That’s important and something I thought I did well.”

The stuff to improve on?

“It took time to get my snaps down, but I improved throughout the year, so that was OK,” he explained. “At guard, things move a little slower. When you are against a nose tackle who is moving with the movement of the ball, you have to speed things up and that took me some time to adjust to.

“You also have to use your off arm (non snapping arm) more prominently and that’s an adjustment. Basically, no matter how you look at it, the NT has an advantage and you just have to do whatever you can to take away that advantage.”

How do you solve that issue?

“I am doing a lot of technique work this summer and tweaking some things to make me more effective,” Warren noted. “Also, I’m working on getting more mobile, working speed drills.”

Warren feels good about the 2023 offensive line.

“Our two tackles (Micah Pettus and Jayden Williams) last year were in their first year and they will only get better with that year under their belts,” Warren assessed. “Jeremy (James) will probably be back at right guard, Eli Acker has a lot of experience and Victor (Curne) can play either tackle or guard and is a really good addition to our room.

“I think we will have more quality depth this year than we have had in the past and maybe we can rotate guys in more often to keep us all fresher all season.”

Backing up Warren is senior Reece McIntyre and true freshman Brycen Sanders also did some snapping in spring.

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