Ole Miss could be in the midst of a rebuilding campaign for the first time in several years.

The Rebels certainly have recruited at a high level the past few seasons, and should be OK from a talent standpoint. However, they have some gaping holes to fill on the mound.

Ole Miss is going through fall workouts without four of its top pitchers from last year's team. It welcomes back ace pitcher Drew Pomeranz, though.

Though the pitching staff has some question marks, the offense still is in good shape even without Jordan Henry, Logan Power and other key hitters. They welcomed back six key hitters this fall, including Tim Ferguson, Matt Smith and Zach Miller.

It'll be interesting to see how the Rebels progress between now and the spring.

It's time to dissect what the Rebels need to accomplish.

Mississippi's five fall keys

1. Get another big-time campaign from Drew Pomeranz -- With the plethora of pitchers the Rebels are without this fall, Pomeranz's success in the spring is more important than ever before. The junior left-hander had a strong summer and will enter the spring as one of the nation's best pitchers. As a sophomore last season, the lefty started 16 games, threw a pair of complete games, had an 8-4 record and compiled a 3.40 ERA in 95 1/3 innings. He also struck out 124 and walked 37 and limited opposing teams to a .237 batting average. The Rebels may be fine on the mound if Pomeranz lives up to expectations.

2. Rebuild the pitching staff -- Even with the return of Pomeranz, David Goforth, Rory McKean, Kyle Barbeck and Aaron Barrett, the Rebels still have several huge holes to fill on the mound without Scott Bittle, Nathan Baker, Brett Bukvich and Phillip Irwin. Bittle made six starts and 14 appearances last season and had a 2.17 ERA in 45 2/3 innings. Baker made 20 appearances and had a 3.63 ERA in 67 innings, Bukvich had a 4.42 ERA in 71 1/3 innings and Irwin had a 3.84 ERA in 86 2/3 innings. Overall, the Rebels lost 40 starts from the '09 campaign. That's a lot of innings to replace. Adding to Ole Miss' woes on the mound is Jake Morgan's UCL injury, which will require surgery and likely will keep him out the entire '10 campaign.

3. Reload at the plate -- The Rebels have the tough chore of replacing key hitters such as Jordan Henry, Evan Button, Kyle Henson and Logan Power. However, they still will enter the spring in good shape. At least that's what the stat sheet suggests. The Rebels finished last season with a .310 batting average and welcome back Tim Ferguson, Matt Smith, Zach Miller, Matt Snyder, David Phillips and Kevin Mort. Ferguson batted .358 with two homers and 21 RBIs last season, Smith batted .336 with eight homers and 59 RBIs, Miller batted .341 with five homers and 38 RBIs, Snyder batted .298 with eight homers and 31 RBIs, Phillips batted .290 with two homers and 20 RBIs and Mort batted .286 with 33 RBIs. Sure, the Rebels have some holes to fill. But there's no question the offense should hit well above .300 in the spring.

4. Find more power production -- The Rebels welcome back a talented crop of hitters that finished last season with solid batting averages. However, this team needs to find more power between now and the spring. The Rebels are in a power-hitting conference and still managed to win the SEC co-championship last season with just 56 homers, which ranked 108th in the country alongside teams such as Vanderbilt and Washington State. The Rebels would be much more dangerous with some added power to the lineup. Perhaps a few newcomers can provide a boost in this department.

5. Use last season as motivation -- As much as it may pain the players to even think about this, it's important for the Rebels to use last season's super regional collapse against Virginia as a rallying point. Sure, the Rebels have had a tendency to fall apart in big-time postseason situations the past few seasons. But remember, each season is exclusive. It wasn't too long ago that many considered North Carolina a perennial postseason failure. Now the Tar Heels have reached the College World Series four-straight occasions and will have another solid team in '10. Ole Miss' time is coming at some point. My guess is sooner rather than later. Will this be the team that does it? It's up to them.