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Ole Miss playmaker Jerrion Ealy eager for expanded role in offense
By Brian Rippee
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Running back Jerrion Ealy compiled 162 touches in 2020. He averaged over 5 yards per rush, running for 745 yards on 147 attempts. He caught 15 passes for 155 more yards.
Ealy’s sophomore campaign saw him mold into the feature back the coaching staff wanted him to be and is poised to take another leap forward in 2021. What will likely be different is how Lane Kiffin and Jeff Lebby get Ealy the football. With Elijah Moore gone to the NFL and the Rebels returning a relatively unproven receiving corps, all signs point toward Ealy seeing time at slot receiver as Ole Miss finds more creative ways to get him touches.
Ealy’s skill set is so versatile that the way to maximize his potential is simply to get him the football in space, however that may happen. He’s excited about moving around to different places offensively.
“If I’m out in the slot, that gives another back an opportunity to be in the backfield,” Ealy said. “And if we have two backs on the field, that’s a dangerous game, a real dangerous game. Being able to move out, Henry (Parrish) can move out, too. We’ll both probably actually move in and out. That gives our offense a little bit more fire on it. Having two backs on the field, we never really have to change sets.”
Ealy will share the backfield with Parrish, who came on strong late in 2020 and siphoned away carries from Snoop Conner. Parrish’s freshman year emergence has to make Ole Miss feel more comfortable about the idea of moving Ealy around, and as he alluded to, both of them on the field will tax defenses tremendously. Despite his involvement in the passing game being a bit limited a season ago, Ealy has more than adequate hands to expand his role. It’s more so about learning the intricacies of the position — like route running and the footwork needed to create separation.
“I’m getting used to it, getting used to the movements,” Ealy said. “I’m getting back in shape, back into football shape. I haven’t necessarily gotten reps in the slot, but I’ve gotten a couple of one-on-ones in the slot. I’m getting there.”
He’s the only one learning this position. His fellow two-sport classmate John Rhys Plumlee is making the full-time transition from quarterback to slot receiver after initially making the move out of necessity in the Rebels’ Outback Bowl win over Indiana.
Ealy said it’s nice having Plumlee out there with him and that he’s learned a lot from the quarterback-turned-receiver. All of this isn’t to say Ealy won’t get his fair share of touches out of the backfield.
He will likely lead the team in carries in each game. Having the ability to slide Ealy to the slot and motion him out of the backfield only amplifies his skill set and creates a pre-snap diversion that defenses must match. It is likely that his catch total from 2020 will at least double as the Rebels look for different ways to replace the large void Moore left behind.
Ealy averaged 10 yards per reception last year and caught 20 passes for 172 yards as a freshman. Most all of the 25 receptions in his first two seasons came with him starting the play in the backfield. This year will be a little different in that regard and how Ealy is able to adapt to lining up at the line of scrimmage and catching balls further down the field will be something to monitor through fall camp and into the early portion of the season. He didn’t have the luxury of working on his new position during the spring. He missed all of spring practice while recovering from shoulder surgery that also cost him the 2021 baseball season. Ealy says he’s full-go now and is picking up things quickly.
There’s no question that Ealy is the most dynamic weapon Ole Miss has on offense. The goal isn’t complicated. Kiffin and Lebby are shrewd play callers and plan to get their best player the ball as often as possible and in a variety of ways.
This also will open up other elements of the passing game, which could prove to be crucial for both quarterback Matt Corral and his relatively unproven receiving corps. Braylon Sanders is a formidable deep threat if he can remain healthy. Jonathan Mingo and Dontario Drummond played well in spurts last season, but neither offered enough consistency to be declared a reliable, volume-catching receiver on the outside heading into the season. All of which makes Ealy’s services all the more needed in the slot.
Ealy looks poised to handle whatever is thrown at him in a 2021 season that should see him put up gaudy numbers.
