Ole Miss doesn’t need a reminder of what a real pass rush looks like. The Rebels had one in 2024, when they piled up 52 sacks and ranked third nationally at 4.0 per game. Last season, that number slid to 33 sacks across 15 games, a 2.2-per-game clip that ranked 29th in the country.
Now the Rebels are trying to turn that part of the defense back into a weapon, and the early signs out of practice suggest they like the pieces they’ve put together. Ole Miss lost Princewill Umanmielen, who led the team with nine sacks in his lone season in Oxford, and Da’Shawn Womack, who added two sacks and ranked fifth on the team before both headed to new schools through the transfer portal. Umanmielen landed at LSU, while Womack is at Auburn.
Rather than sit on those losses, Ole Miss went shopping. The Rebels added edge rushers Jordan Renaud, Blake Purchase and Jonathan Maldonado through the portal, while also keeping important pressure players in Suntarine Perkins and Kam Franklin. Freshman Landon Barnes is part of that mix too.
Maldonado didn’t hide how the group feels from the inside.
“I think it’s looking dangerous. I think it’s looking really dangerous, especially with just the depth we have,” Maldonado said following Friday’s practice.
“You look at all the different rushers we have and the different skill sets and mindsets that we have. We have big guys with power, we have speed guys, but I think the main thing is the depth.
You could just rotate guys in, having fresh legs over and over rushing the passer - especially with the guys that we have - I’m telling you, it’s looking dangerous.”
That rotation matters at Ole Miss, where defensive line coach Randall Joyner has spent six seasons building his room around constant movement and fresh bodies. Maldonado, a transfer from Nevada, is expected to be a major part of that approach in 2026. Over his last two seasons there, he put up 55 tackles, five pass deflections, 6.5 sacks and a pick-six.
He also sees plenty to like in his own game.
“I think my length is huge as far as hand fighting and stuff like that. I can get into the offensive linemen’s chest really fast, probably before they touch me,” Maldonado explained of skill set.
“Besides that I got good speed and good bend off the edge, especially for how tall I am. Then I got a good array of moves too.
I think I’m pretty smart as well. I’ve been playing football since I was five and basically have played every position.
I just know the game of football and I think I could set up different moves in any situation.”
Purchase is drawing attention too. Will Echoles, the star defensive tackle, has reportedly said the Oregon transfer has a chance to lead the Southeastern Conference in sacks this season. Purchase appreciated the confidence.
“That’s big, having confidence in your teammates. Somebody like Will, that’s probably one of the best guys on the team so him being excited about me - I take that as a big compliment,” Purchase added.
“With my game, just being able to get off the edge (and) speed off the ball and having a lot of different moves I could use at the top of the rush. That’s probably the big part of my game.”
Perkins and Franklin are already proven producers. Franklin finished with 5.0 sacks last season, while Perkins had 4.5. Perkins is also aiming to get back to the kind of disruptive form he showed in 2024, when he tied for the team lead with 10.5 sacks.
Bryan Brown sees a front that has a chance to be dangerous if it comes together the right way. Earlier this month, the defensive coordinator compared this group to the one he saw in 2024 and said the current unit may even have a little more to work with up front.
“That group in ‘24 was really talented and I think this group has a lot of talent. I think we got a little bit more depth, especially up front,” Brown said this month.
“I wouldn’t say, right now, they’re going to be better than that group, but we have a chance to be if we do things right and do our job and execute at a high level. But we do have a chance to be better than that group and we have a little bit more depth than that ‘24 group.”
With the returnees and the newcomers both in place, Ole Miss believes its edge rushers should be spending a lot more time in the backfield this fall than they did a year ago.
In Other News...
Lane Kiffin Is Testing A Roster Loophole Ole Miss Fans Know Well
A recent Louisiana ruling has opened an unusual path back into college football for certain players, including some who have spent time in NFL training camps, and it is already creating ripple effects around the sport. For Ole Miss fans, the situation will sound familiar: Lane Kiffin has never been shy about exploring roster rules, and this latest development again puts the transfer landscape and the eligibility maze under a bright light.
Dae'Quan Wright, a tight end who was previously with the Cleveland Browns, was waived and now has an agreement to play for LSU in 2026 if he clears waivers. The move came after contact between Kiffin and Browns coach Todd Monken, and it is expected to draw scrutiny from the NCAA and SEC, which could challenge or regulate the transfer as the broader question of how far this loophole can go starts to take shape. [Read more 🡒]
Ole Miss May Have Found A Secondary Chess Piece In Edwin Joseph
Edwin Joseph arrived at Ole Miss with the kind of background that makes a defensive staff lean in a little closer. The Florida State transfer has been used mostly at safety in preseason work, but the Rebels have also given him snaps at cornerback as they continue sorting through the pieces in the secondary. His past experience at multiple spots, including on offense, gives the staff a flexible option as it tries to find the right fit.
Josephs summer mattered, too, because he had to work back from a pre-existing injury before he could really show what he could add. Once he was healthy, he stood out enough in workouts to make the Rebels keep expanding his role, and that versatility is exactly why he remains one of the more interesting secondary pieces on the roster entering the season. [Read more 🡒]
Tah'j Butler Brings More Than Talent To Ole Miss Defense
Tah'j Butler arrives at Ole Miss with the kind of profile the Rebels were looking for in the transfer portal, a linebacker from Georgia Tech who is expected to play a significant role in shaping the defense this fall. The Rebels have been active in reinforcing that unit with multiple transfers at linebacker, and Butler fits into a group that should give the team more depth and flexibility heading into the season opener.
But Butlers move was about more than football fit. He pointed to his late friend Corey Adams and the relationship between the coaching staffs as factors in his decision to come to Oxford, giving his transfer a personal layer that goes beyond scheme and depth charts. For Ole Miss, the addition matters on the field, but it also brings a player whose path to the Rebels carried real meaning along with the promise of production. [Read more 🡒]