When he saw the depth chart for Ole Miss’ game at Auburn, Talbot Buys’ eyes lit up and his heart fluttered.

There, sitting at the top, was his name.

Sure, it was on special teams. He’d only be blocking on field goals and extra points. But, for the first time, the big walk-on from tiny Porters Chapel Academy was guaranteed to get on the field in a Southeastern Conference game.

“Some people are up there saying, ‘I don’t want to be on field goal,’” Buys said. “Being a preferred walk-on, it’s a different mindset. I had to work my way up. Coming from Porters Chapel and being where I am now, the Lord has blessed me.”

Buys’ road through the college football world has not been easy. The 6-foot-8, 310-pound offensive tackle first went to Holmes Community College, where he sat out a year after contracting mono.

He started the next two years at Holmes and earned MACJC All-State honors as a sophomore. That success allowed him to garner attention from several four-year schools — Jacksonville State, Georgia State, UAB, West Virginia and Ole Miss.

Buys preferred going to school in a smaller town, so Georgia State (Atlanta) and UAB (Birmingham) were out. Jacksonville State offered a full scholarship and a starting spot on a team expected to contend for a national title in the Football Championship Subdivision.

West Virginia and Ole Miss, meanwhile, both offered him a spot as a preferred walk-on. The deal was he would have a roster spot but not a scholarship or any promises of playing time.

After some thought, the desire to play at Ole Miss — the school his father and several other family members attended — won out, even if there were few guarantees. He said life as a walk-on has not been too difficult.

“They really don’t treat us any different. The only difference is I don’t have custom-fitted knee braces and the scholarship guys do,” he said. “It’s not like it used to be back in the old days, when you got the pants with holes in them.”

Progressing up the depth chart has been a slow, but steady task for Buys. For most of the 2014 season he was not on Ole Miss’ travel roster for road games. He did play on the scout team, however, and managed to get playing time in two blowout wins over Presbyterian and Louisiana-Lafayette.

Buys suffered a broken foot during spring practice in March, then broke it again in May and wasn’t cleared to play until a week before preseason drills began. Despite the injury, he was second on the Rebels’ depth chart at right tackle behind Aaron Morris.

Buys got into three more blowout wins early in the season against UT-Martin, Fresno State and New Mexico State, playing most of the second half in each game. Then came the game at Auburn on Halloween, when he was moved up to the first string field goal unit.

It wasn’t a glorious job — “My job is to make sure nobody gets past me,” Buys says — but the feeling of being a starter is one he’ll never forget.

“My first game was at Auburn in front of 85,000 people. How great is that?” Buys said. “Last year I was happy to be out there. This year it’s like, yeah, I’m playing. I want more. When you’re just on the sideline you’re talking to people and watching it. Being in the game, you feel more into it.”

Being a starter also validated, to Buys, his decision to walk on at Ole Miss rather than take a guaranteed scholarship at a smaller school. He has one year of eligibility left and is hoping to be on scholarship next year, but this was a sign that he’s heading in the right direction.

“Everybody goes through times where they say, ‘Do I like football this much? Do I want to be here?” he said. “When you start playing games, you realize it’s what you want to do.”

On Saturday, Buys and the Rebels will go to Starkville for their annual rivalry game with Mississippi State. It’s the first time Buys will be on the field for the Egg Bowl, and he’s looking forward to it — not just because he’ll play this time, but because of the rivalry atmosphere associated with the game.

Buys’ mother and a number of family members attended Mississippi State. One of his good friends, former Warren Central star Devon Bell, is a senior kicker for the Bulldogs. After last year’s game in Oxford, Buys and Bell met on the field and had a picture taken together.

“It’s going to be awesome. We’ve got so many friends affiliated with State, and friends who go to State, and my mom’s whole family went there,” Buys said, adding with a laugh, “I’m looking forward to Saturday, but I’m not looking forward to the cowbells. The cowbells sure make Davis Wade (Stadium) a much more hostile environment.”

Ole Miss will go to an actual bowl game after the Egg Bowl, and then into an offseason where Buys hopes to once again make a mark. Several starters on the offensive line, including tackles Laremy Tunsil and Fahn Cooper, will graduate or leave early for the NFL.

That will leave the competition for starting spots wide open. Buys believes he can earn one of them.

“I’m on the second string now. Laremy and Fahn Cooper will go to the NFL, so it’s wide open. I’m just going to keep working and hopefully it works out,” Buys said, adding that when he sees his name atop the offensive line depth chart, “It’s going to be even more rewarding than seeing it on the special teams depth chart. It’ll be the icing on the cake.”

Ole Miss at Mississippi State

Saturday, 6:15 p.m.

TV: ESPN2

Radio: 1490 AM (Ole Miss) and 105.5 FM (Miss. State)

Series record: Ole Miss leads the all-time series 62-43-6