Photo credits: Ole Miss athletics
When Patrick Kutas decided to transfer to Ole Miss in December of 2024, the decision was not a easy one.
Leaving a respected offensive line guru with Sam Pittman at the helm for the Arkansas Razorbacks, much time went into the decision to leave the program for greater pastures.
In a period of time, Kutas elected to call Oxford home, because of the people, the town, and most of all coach John Garrison.
“Having coach Garrison here is awesome for our room, and for the program. He is a great coach who wants to see us be better every day and genuinely cares about us. He has been great to me as a person and someone I can go talk to about life but also about football and goals.”
It’s one thing to be in a winning environment, but it’s a added bonus, when that environment extends beyond the football field.
Within a year greatness has followed Kutas, awarded the Kent Hull Trophy last season which goes to the best offensive lineman in the state of Mississippi, and has seen his name on multiple watchlists for this upcoming season including the Outland Trophy which is presented to the best interior offensive lineman in the country.
“Pre season award lists are awesome and great to see hard work paying off, but at the end of the day they are just preseason and you can’t let any of those affect you and change who you are. I think they are great but I don’t let them change or define me, because I know who I am and what it took to get to this point in my career. So I’m going to continue to being me and working hard every day to do my job to the highest ability for the team.”
The added pressure comes with success, and that’s exactly what the 2025 offensive line saw last season under John Garrison.
With the heart of the line returning, Kutas is now aimed to take a bigger leap in a variety of different ways, and has worked on a plethora of things throughout the offseason to prepare for the season.
“The offseason has been great, it’s been a good balance of continued growth physically and mentally and making sure I get enough time away from football and rest. Offseason prep for me is finding things that I lacked last year and finding ways to improve those, whether it’s with my body, film habits, or things in my game that I can improve. I had an emphasis on my mobility and overall structure while still elevating in strength and speed.”
Being a anchor for the programs first College Football Playoff appearance was a memory that will truly be stored into the mind of Kutas forever, while also taking valuable life lessons away from the experience.
“My biggest takeaway from last season was to never take a day for granted. Being able to do what we did was such a blessing and some of the best memories I’ll have in college.”
Photo credits: Ole Miss athletics
Ole Miss began fall camp this past week, and all eyes will be on the offense with star quarterback Trinidad Chambliss and running back Kewan Lacy returning to the program.
With this, the preparation and passion for the game has ignited around the program, and as fall camp moves forward, every opportunity must be taken to improve at every level.
“My biggest goal going into camp is probably how can I make sure as a team we can continue on the path of success we want to have, and it starts with the OL.
Ole Miss football kicks off their 2026 season against Louisville Sunday, September 6, at 6:30 p.m. CT at Nissan Stadium, in Nashville, Tennessee.