‘Watch out for Ole Miss’: Former NFL/UF tight end Troupe tags Rebels with sleeper status in 2023
Ole Miss football has, arguably, one of the toughest paths to the postseason of any Power 5 team in 2023.
Even still, the Rebels have a believer in former NFL and Florida Gator tight end Ben Troupe.
No, he’s not going out on a limb and picking the Rebels — who have reached the postseason each of the last three years — to win the SEC West. They do have road trips to Alabama AND Georgia, after all.
Those teams are responsible for the last three national championships.
Troupe’s taking the Crimson Tide, even if Alabama has plenty of questions of its own, too. LSU is a trendy pick as a sleeper national-title contender and “is going to have a say,” in the division race, according to Troupe.
But, for his money, Troupe is throwing his weight behind the Rebels.
Ole Miss has won 23 of its 39 games under now-fourth-year head coach Lane Kiffin. The Rebels have never reached the SEC championship in program history, however. Every other team originally in the division has done so.
“Obviously Alabama (is No. 1), but people keep saying they don’t know what they’ve got at the quarterback position,” Troupe said, in an appearance on the Rebel Yell Hotline. “You know they’re going to have running backs. You know they’re going to have a big, meaty offensive line. You know they’re going to have a bunch of defenders who are going to be Top 10, Top 15 in the draft.
“I know LSU is a team people are talking about. But be on the lookout for them Ole Miss boys. They’ve been making noise the last couple of years under Lane Kiffin.
“Unfortunately, they haven’t won the West.”
Troupe was an All-American tight end at Florida and second-round selection of the Tennessee Titans in the 2004 NFL Draft. He played five professional seasons. Troupe is now a regular contributor for ESPN Radio, as well as a motivational speaker and author.
He added, “For my money, I’d go Alabama one, Ole Miss two.”
Troupe isn’t alone in picking Ole Miss as a preseason sleeper.
Phil Steele believes in the Rebels as a “very talented squad” and potential “surprise contender.”
But Ole Miss has one of the toughest schedules in the country. As Steele noted, the Rebels have a trip to Athens, their first since 2012. Ole Miss hasn’t won there since 1996. Georgia is the back-to-back, defending national champion.
“Maybe a dark horse is Texas A&M,” Troupe said. “Hugh Freeze (and Auburn) might sneak in there in 2023.
“But watch out for Ole Miss this year.”
