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Mississippi Rebels cornerback Chris Graves Jr. (32), from left, safety Trey Washington (25), and safety John Saunders Jr. (5) work to tackle Duke Blue Devils wide receiver Eli Pancol (4) during the first quarter of the TaxSlayer Gator Bowl Thursday, Jan. 2, 2025 at EverBank Stadium in Jacksonville, Fla. [Corey Perrine/Florida Times-Union] Corey Perrine/Florida Times-Union / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Ole Miss Football Cornerback, Former Sought-After Prospect Enters Transfer Portal

Originally posted on Ole Miss Rebels on SI | By Zack Nagy | Last updated Apr 16, 2025 4:15 PM ET

Ole Miss cornerback Chris Graves has entered the NCAA Transfer Portal after two seasons in Oxford, according to On3 Sports.

Graves, a consensus four-star prospect out of high school, signed with the Miami Hurricanes as a member of the 2022 Recruiting Class.

After redshirting in his lone season with the Hurricanes, Graves hit the Transfer Portal and signed with Lane Kiffin and the Rebels.

Now, after two seasons in Oxford, Graves will re-enter the portal market in search of a new home. He will have two seasons of eligibility remaining at his next destination.

NEW: Ole Miss CB Chris Graves plans to enter the NCAA transfer portal, @PeteNakos_ reports.

The former Miami transfer totaled 15 tackles this season. https://t.co/90gNl7Lt7d pic.twitter.com/2nPezNuFMT
— Transfer Portal (@TransferPortal_) April 16, 2025

In two seasons with the Rebels, Graves logged 28 tackles, three pass breakups and a forced fumble across double-digit games played.

The news of Graves' departure comes on the heels of Ole Miss signing Clemson transfer cornerback Tayvon Feagin via the portal on Wednesday.

HOTTT TODDY pic.twitter.com/1zQ9JGv2xQ
— Tavoy “Seatbelt” Feagin (@feagin_tavoy) April 16, 2025

Kiffin and the Rebels enter a critical stretch this offseason with the program looking to reconstruct the defensive backfield after losing multiple pieces to the 2025 NFL Draft.

“A lot of work to do in the secondary,” Kiffin said during Spring Camp. “There’s so many new pieces. Even though there were new pieces last year, they had played a lot.

"You’d seen them start in the SEC, a lot of returning guys. Right now, I feel there’s a lot of guys in new schemes here, especially the back seven defensively, that need to get used to that.

“So we do a lot of reps and a lot of different situations to continue to expose guys to that so we can evaluate them.”

The Rebels brought in LSU defensive back Sage Ryan during the winter portal window where he will look to adapt to life with Ole Miss.

The veteran presence has become a Swiss Army Knife in the secondary where he took reps at both cornerback and safety during his tenure in Baton Rouge.

Ryan is looking to take his game to the next level with the chance to plug into Pete Golding's NFL-style defense.

"What brought me to Ole Miss is the family-oriented program. I knew I could come here and be the best me," Ryan said. "Pete Golding himself sold me. I know it's an NFL defense that he runs and that would prepare me for the next level."

Over four years, Ryan totaled 114 tackles, including 6.5 for a loss, with five forced fumbles, 13 pass breakups and one interception with the LSU Tigers.

Ryan has been in the starting lineup for four consecutive years in games against Ole Miss, including one of just two starts as a true freshman and his only start as a redshirt freshman.

So far in spring practice, his experience hasn't been much different—he's still lining up against Ole Miss receivers, now he's just doing it wearing red and blue.

"It is kind of weird. I was talking to one of my buddies about that the other day. Last year going against Cayden Lee, but now I'm going against him but I'm on the same team," Ryan said. "It's been a smooth journey for me. I don't really think about it like that, I'm just a part of Ole Miss now."