The Ole Miss Rebels aren’t talked about often as a college football powerhouse but they have produced some of the biggest stars in the history of the sport.
The Manning Family plays a huge role in that history but there’s so much more to it. The Rebels’ football legacy goes as far back as the 1930s to the early days of the Southern Conference and eventually the SEC. The Rebels were a dominant force in the early years of the SEC, so when it came down to picking the best Rebels ever, we had to look back through the school’s storied history to find many of them.
Here are the top 10 Ole Miss Rebels football players of all time.
10, Bruiser Kinard, tackle
Bruiser Kinard played offensive and defensive tackle for some of those great Ole Miss teams of the 1930s, becoming the first player from any Mississippi school to be named first-team All-American in the process, doing so in both 1936 and 1937. In his three seasons, he played in every game for the Rebels, averaging 55 minutes per game, and played every minute of nine games during that time. A co-captain in 1937, he led Ole Miss to a 9-3 season and Orange Bowl berth. Kinard would go on to be inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame, Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame, and Pro Football Hall of Fame.
9. Gene Hickerson, guard
Gene Hickerson joins Kinard as the only two Rebels inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Hickerson was part of those dominant Ole Miss teams of the 1950s that went 26-5-1. During that time, the Rebels won the 1955 SEC title, the 1956 Cotton Bowl, and the 1958 Sugar Bowl. Hickerson would go on to have a fantastic 15-year with the Cleveland Browns, blocking for the likes of Hall of Fame running back Jim Brown.
8. Barney Poole, end
Barney Poole has a unique college football story. He was an All-American at two schools; Army and Ole Miss. Poole played at Ole Miss in 1942 before the U.S. joined the war effort. He played with the North Carolina V-12 unit in 1943, then Army between 1944 and 1946, before returning to Ole Miss for two seasons in 1947 and 1948. He would go on to be named an All-American and All-SEC player in those two final seasons, along with an All-American nod while with Army. Named to the Ole Miss Team of the Century, he finished his Ole Miss career with 70 receptions for 764 yards and 11 touchdowns. his 53 receptions in 1947 was, at the time, a school record.
7. Kayo Dottley, running back
Kayo Dottley was the first running back in Ole Miss history to rush for over a thousand yards. In 1949, he rushed for over 1,312 yards and 18 touchdowns. That rushing total remains the single-season school record. He was also the first Rebel running back to rush for 1,000 yards in back-to-back seasons. The 1949 first-team All-America selection is a member of the Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame and the Ole Miss Hall of Fame. He was also named to the Ole Miss Team of the Century
6. Jake Gibbs, quarterback, punter
Before Archie Manning arrived in Oxford, the quintessential great Rebels quarterback was Jake Gibbs. Gibbs led the SEC in total offense in 1959 and was an All-American in 1960. Older Rebal fans may remember him as the punter who kicked the ball to LSU running back Billy Cannon in the infamous 1959 game in which Cannon ran for a touchdown for the win and sealed his Heisman Trophy campaign. But more importantly, he led the Rebels to the 1960 National Championship and won SEC Player of the Year Gibbs also happened to be a great baseball player who went on to play with the New York Yankees from 1962 to 1971.
5. Deuce McAllister, running back
Thanks to three stellar seasons, Deuce McAllister owns the Rebels’ rushing records for carries, yards, rushing touchdowns, total touchdowns, points, and 100-yard games. McAllister’s best season came in 1998 when he rushed for over 1,000 yards and seven touchdowns as a sophomore. In his senior season, he tied the school record for touchdowns in a season (18) while rushing for nearly 800 yards. He also made the All-SEC first and second teams while playing for the Rebels and would go on to become a productive running back with the New Orleans Saints, helping them win their first Super Bowl in 2010.
4. Charlie Conerly, quarterback
Charlie Conerly’s Ole Miss career began in 1942 but left to serve in World War II. He returned in 1946 and became the first Rebels quarterback to lead the team to an SEC title the following season. In 1947, he led the nation in pass completions (133), scored 27 total touchdowns, was a consensus All-American, and was named Player of the Year by the Helms Athletic Foundation. Conerly was named to the College Football Hall of Fame in 1966 and is also a member of the Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame and Ole Miss Athletic Hall of Fame.
3. Patrick Willis, linebacker
Patrick Willis was a beast for the Rebels between 2003 and 2006. The linebacker was a two-time All-American, a two-time All-SEC player, a 2006 SEC Defensive Player of the Year, and a 2006 Butkus Award winner. In 2006, he led the SEC with 11.4 tackles per game, collecting 137 in total to go with seven passes deflected, three sacks, two forced fumbles, and one fumble recovery. Following an impressive NFL career as a seven-time Pro Bowler, he was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2019.
2. Eli Manning, quarterback
Eli Manning might be No. 1 on this list had he chosen any other school than the one his dad attended. Still, he helped solidify the Manning Family legacy at Ole Miss with his stellar college career. Manning officially became the starter as a sophomore in 2001 and immediately made an impact, throwing for 2,948 yards and 31 touchdowns. As a junior, he reached 3,401 passing yards and 23 total touchdowns. As a senior in 2003, he cemented his legacy, throwing for 3,600 yards and 29 touchdowns (with three more rushing scores), leading the Rebels to their first 1o-win season since 1971. That year, he won the Maxwell Award and Johnny Unitas Award, was named SEC Offensive Player of the Year, and finished third in Heisman voting. His No. 10 has been retired and he went on to have a stellar career with the New York Giants, winning two Super Bowls.
1. Archie Manning, quarterback
When you have a road sign named after you on your college campus, how can you not be No. 1 on this list? Although he didn’t put up the type of numbers son Eli did, Archie Manning remains the gold standard that Ole Miss quarterbacks have to live up to. Manning’s iconic status began in a nationally televised 1969 loss to Alabama in which he threw for 436 yards and three touchdowns while also rushing for 104 yards. In his college career, Manning threw 4,753 yards and 31 touchdowns, rushing for another 823 yards. He was named SEC Player of the Year in 1969 and made the All-SEC team in both 1969 and 1970. Manning was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1989. Manning spent most of his NFL career with the New Orleans Saints and is remembered for being a bright spot for what was an otherwise bad football franchise.
