PFF has Ole Miss DL No. 5; Athlon puts three Rebels on first-team All-SEC offense
Ole Miss football is still 82 days away from kicking off its highly-anticipated 2024 season.
However, preseason predictions and projections continue to roll in to help pass the time.
Pro Football Focus has ranked the Ole Miss defensive line No. 5 in all of college football. Ohio State sits atop the list, followed by Michigan, Miami (Fla.) and Georgia.
Ole Miss refortified its defensive front in the off-season. The Rebels landed a pair of Top 10 transfers out of the portal in Walter Nolen (defensive tackle, Texas A&M) and Princely Umanmielen (EDGE, Florida). They pulled first-team All-Conference USA defensive lineman Chris Hardie from Jacksonville State.
Additionally, the Rebels cleaned up with their 2024 high-school haul. Leading the way was Kam Franklin, a Top 100 recruit and Mississippi’s top prospect. He enrolled early and went through spring practices. Ole Miss signed four-star in-state defensive linemen Jeffery Rush, William Echoles and Kamron Beavers, too.
“Lane Kiffin has really embraced the new era of college football,” On3 portal expert Pete Nakos previously said of the Rebels. Kiffin is entering his fifth season as head coach. Ole Miss won a program-record 11 games last season.
“There are definitely still coaches out there who refuse to embrace the portal. (Clemson’s) Dabo Swinney is probably the best example of that. But Ole Miss is attacking the portal. They’ve got a great NIL situation. They’ve built one of the best classes I think we’ve seen in the last couple of years. Ole Miss’ class is as deep as anyone’s out there. Just a lot of talent.”
Even more, reserve defensive tackle Akelo Stone, one of two expected guests this week on The Ole Miss Spirit’s ‘Ivey League’ podcast, has the sixth-highest grade of all returning SEC defensive tackles.
The Ole Miss offense is equally stacked.
Athlon Sports released its All-SEC preseason first team on Monday. The Rebels had three honorees: WRs Tre Harris and Juice Wells and tight end Caden Prieskorn. Nolen was the only Rebel placed on the first-team defense.
Wells is a transfer from South Carolina. Wells had surgery on his foot before the 2023 season and caught just three passes for 37 yards. He re-aggravated the injury on a touchdown reception against Georgia and didn’t see the field again the remainder of the year.
Ole Miss is ranked as a consensus Top 10 team in all of On3’s post-spring/portal Top 25 rankings.
“I wanted to be with a quarterback who’s actually experienced in the SEC and can actually control the offense,” Wells said back in April of his transfer decision. “Also, I want to win, man. I don’t like losing. I’m a competitor.”
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Ole Miss boasts On3’s No. 3 overall transfer class.
Chris ‘Pooh’ Paul was the portal’s No. 1 linebacker. Wells was the No. 1 wide receiver. Safety Key Lawrence came over from Oklahoma. Cornerbacks Trey Amos and Isaiah Hamilton transferred in from Alabama and Houston, respectively.
Wells was one of the top receivers in the SEC in 2022, finishing with 68 catches for 928 yards. He chose the Rebels in the portal over, among others, Oregon, Texas and Tennessee. Wells had 1,853 combined receiving yards in two seasons at James Madison, where he started his career.
“We’re not a team yet; we’re just a roster,” veteran Ole Miss wide receiver Jordan Watkins said back in the spring, which Wells missed with an injury. “We’re just a group of names all on a list (indicating) they play football at Ole Miss.
“If we all come together as a team? The sky’s the limit — national championship, College Football Playoffs. That’s our expectation.”
The post PFF has Ole Miss DL No. 5; Athlon puts three Rebels on first-team All-SEC offense appeared first on On3.
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