Pete Golding heads into his first full season running Ole Miss with plenty of moving parts, but the Rebels also have some built-in stability where it matters most. Trinidad Chambliss is back at quarterback, Kewan Lacy returns in the backfield, and that gives Golding a steady offensive foundation while he sorts through the changes on the other side of the ball.
Defense is where the overhaul really shows. Will Echoles and Suntarine Perkins are the key returners, but they’ll be joined by a wave of transfer portal additions as Ole Miss tries to piece together a new look unit for fall camp. Golding said the experience across the roster should help when the pressure rises.
"I mean, you bring guys in with experience, hoping that the moment or the game or the stage isn't too big," Golding said. "And then the focus starts becoming on something that doesn't really matter. And so I think we have a lot of guys that have played in a lot of big games at big places and all that, so I think there's not a lot of anxiety going into certain things."
The secondary has been one of the biggest areas of turnover, with Jalyn Crawford, Edwin Joseph, Joenel Aguero, and Sharif Denson among the newcomers expected to factor in. Golding said the group is already grasping the scheme and now needs to translate that knowledge to live speed and repetition.
"I think they've got a good idea conceptually of what we're asking them to do in all three phases, and now it's honing in on the speed of the game versus real people on a consistent basis," Golding said. "And then getting back to the fundamentals and making sure that we're coaching it the right way and that they understand."
Ole Miss’ big-play issues from last season are part of the backdrop here, and the Rebels need that to improve. With talent up front, the defensive line could make the job easier behind it. If the defense starts clicking early, this team has a chance to look a lot more complete.
In Other News...
LSU Just Got An Early Read On Its 2026 National Standing
The preseason Super 16 for 2026 arrived with the usual early peek at the national pecking order, and the SEC once again showed up in force. Ohio State and Oregon opened at No. 1 and No. 2, while the league landed seven teams in the poll, a reminder that the conferences top end still carries plenty of weight even before a snap is played. The rankings come from a collaboration between the National Football Foundation and the Football Writers Association of America, with ballots from FWAA writers and College Football Hall of Famers shaping the first impression.
For Ole Miss, the broader takeaway is what this kind of list says about the road ahead in the SEC picture, where the Rebels are part of a crowded field trying to measure themselves against the leagues best. Texas sits at No. 4 and Georgia at No. 5, and the poll also features Texas A&M, Oklahoma, LSU and Alabama, while Tennessee, Vanderbilt, Auburn, Florida and South Carolina were left out. The early national conversation is already tilting toward conference heavyweights, and the Rebels will spend the months ahead trying to make sure they stay in that same conversation. [Read more 🡒]