Ole Miss Revamping Defense Through Transfer Portal

Ole Miss and Lane Kiffin enjoy the transfer portal. They’ve shown that in years past, and this year is certainly no different. Except they now have a new resource in regards to recruiting the transfer portal.

That new resource is defensive coordinator Pete Golding. While Golding arrived in Oxford last offseason following a lengthy stint as the defensive coordinator at Alabama, this is his first full recruiting with the Rebels. And he seems to be enjoying his time in his new home.

In year one as the Rebel defensive coordinator, the Ole Miss defense saw major improvement. They weren’t great, but the improvements were obvious. Now, with a full year and full offseason under his belt, the expectations continue to grow.

And with the Rebels performance in the transfer portal, those expectations are reaching extraordinary levels. Despite receiving word that key defensive linemen JJ Pegues and Jared Ivey would be returning, Golding and company stayed active in the portal. That persistence has worked wonders, and things may not yet be done for the Rebels regarding transfers.

So let’s take a look at a few of the key names Ole Miss has landed on the defensive side of the ball through the transfer portal.

Princely Umanmielen

Princely Umanmielen, a four-star transfer from Florida, is the biggest pickup for the Rebels to date. The edge rusher is ranked as the number nine prospect in the 247Sports portal rankings. This season with the Gators, Umanmielen recorded 39 tackles, including 11.5 tackles for loss. He also added seven sacks to go along with it.

With a 6’4″ frame, Umanmielen will immediately add needed length to the Ole Miss defensive line. And with an aggressive coordinator like Golding, expect him to get plenty of chances to do what he does best, which is to get after the quarterback.

Tyler Baron

Tennessee transfer Tyler Baron is extremely similar to Umanmielen. The four-star commit is also an Edge rusher and looks nearly identical. He stands at 6’5″, putting him an inch taller than the Gator transfer, but they both come in weighing around 260 pounds.

He didn’t have quite the stat line that Umanmielen had this season (10.5 tackles for loss, six sacks), but he still did enough to find himself at number ten on 247Sports transfer rankings. This includes being the second-rated edge rusher, only behind Umanmielen.

Assuming Baron will line up on the opposite side of the Florida transfer, Ole Miss is set to have two tremendous talents on either side of their defensive line for the 2024 season.

Chris Paul Jr.

Chris Paul Jr. joins the Rebels as a four-star transfer from Arkansas. The 6’1″, 240-pounder from Cordele, Georgia, has been one of the best linebackers in the SEC over the past two seasons. He’s recorded 136 tackles, including 14.5 for loss, and six sacks since the start of the 2022 season. These numbers were good enough to find himself as the top-ranked linebacker in this year’s transfer portal.

While he may be a bit on the shorter side in regards to SEC linebackers, he plays a physical brand of football, which makes up for his shorter stature. Pairing him up with returning sophomore Suntarine Perkins at the linebacker position should be a major upgrade for Ole Miss. This could potentially be the case for multiple years to come, as they both have multiple years of eligibility remaining.

Key Lawrence

Oklahoma Sooner transfer Key Lawrence should end up being a big-time pickup for the Rebels. The three-star defensive back started his career at Tennessee, where he saw limited snaps in one season as a Vol. Following his freshman season he made his way to Norman, where he became a day one starter.

In three seasons as a Sooner, he recorded 149 tackles, including 10 tackles for loss. With those numbers, he arrives in Oxford as the 11th-ranked safety in this year’s portal class. With the Rebel secondary being the weakest part of the defense this year, Lawrence should immediately bring experience and talent to that position group. His addition to the roster could easily have a massive impact on the Ole Miss defense.

Is Walter Nolen Oxford Bound?

Despite all of those names already committed, Kiffin’s and Golding’s work isn’t done yet. They recently hosted Texas A&M defensive lineman Walter Nolen on a visit to Oxford. The 6’4″ interior lineman was the number one prospect in the class of 2022. And fittingly, he now finds himself as the top prospect in this year’s portal rankings.

In two seasons in College Station, Nolen recorded 66 tackles and five sacks. If he were to end up in Oxford, he would easily become the prized possession of this transfer class. He would also solidify the Rebel defensive line as one of the best in the country.

Originally from Olive Branch, MS, roughly an hour north of Oxford, it would end up being a sort of homecoming for the defensive lineman. While the transfer haul for the Rebels has been solid, a Nolen commitment would be the stamp it truly needs.

Can Kiffin and Golding get it done?

The Bottom Line

There’s no question about it. This Ole Miss defense should continue its improvement from this year into next season. And it shouldn’t end up being baby steps. Next season, with the returners and what’s being added, this could be one of the best defensive units in the nation.

And that’s based solely on the known commits to date. There’s also a good group of prospects set to join the unit from this year’s high school class. If Nolen also joins, the defense takes another step forward.

One prominent aspect missing from this year’s Ole Miss defense was depth. If all goes according to schedule for the Rebels, depth won’t be an issue next season. Knowing that the Kiffin-led offense is always expected to put up good numbers, an elite defense in Oxford would be a true difference-maker.

And with the College Football Playoff set to expand to 12 teams next year, expect the new-look Ole Miss Rebels to be squarely in the mix.