Ole Miss’ football game Saturday against Furman is more than just a lopsided matchup between an SEC program and an FCS opponent it’s paying $500,000 to beat handily, if not outright demolish.
Rather, it marks the start of perhaps the most anticipated Rebels season in generations.
After winning a school-record 11 games in 2023, Ole Miss heads into the season not only among the favorites in a deep and reconfigured SEC, but as a viable threat to make its first-ever appearance in the College Football Playoff. Heading into the Furman game, the Rebels are the No. 6 team in both major polls, their highest preseason ranking since 1970 — five years before Ole Miss coach Lane Kiffin was born.
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The Rebels’ lofty preseason standing is due in part to what they’re bringing in to bolster what was an already talented roster.
Over the offseason, Ole Miss dipped heavily into the transfer portal, adding more than two dozen players with college experience, including many who had established and productive roles on power-conference teams.
With their season set to officially get underway, here’s a look at the Rebels’ group of transfers:
How many players did Ole Miss add from the transfer portal?
Ole Miss’ 2024 class included 25 players from the transfer portal, according to 247Sports.
The Rebels have the 11th-largest transfer haul in the FBS and the second-largest in the SEC, behind only Texas A&M. Five of the 10 teams that brought in more transfers than Ole Miss had a coaching change, which typically makes a program more likely to overhaul their rosters with transfers.
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Ole Miss transfer class ranking
The Rebels’ 2024 transfer class is more than just large. It’s quite talented, too.
Ole Miss had the top-ranked transfer class in the country, according to rankings from 247. The Rebels finished ahead of, in order, Oregon, Alabama, Texas A&M and Texas. Five of the top six teams in the transfer portal rankings are from the SEC.
In recent years, as programs have leaned more heavily on the transfer portal to round out their rosters, recruiting outlets have reassigned star rankings to players that can differ from how they were rated coming out of high school. Ole Miss’ class has one five-star and seven four-star transfers.
It’s not the first time Kiffin has had success with the portal. If anything, it’s becoming the norm. In each of the previous two years, the Rebels had 247’s No. 2 transfer class, finishing behind USC in 2022 and Colorado in 2023.
Top Ole Miss transfers
Among the Rebels’ incoming transfers are five of the 60 highest-rated transfers by 247, including three of the top 30.
Here’s a look at the most heralded of Ole Miss’ transfer portal additions ahead of the 2024 season:
Walter Nolen
The 6-foot-3, 305-pound defensive tackle is the crown jewel of the Rebels’ transfer haul. Nolen was the No. 2 player nationally in the 2022 recruiting class and over two seasons at Texas A&M, he had 66 tackles, 11 tackles for loss, five sacks and one forced fumble. He’s a five-star transfer and the No. 3 player out of the portal in 2024.
Princely Umanmielen
A defensive end who’s the No. 18 transfer, Umanmielen spent the previous three seasons at Florida, where he had 24.5 tackles for loss, 15 sacks and three forced fumbles across four seasons.
Antwane Wells Jr.
Yet another intra-SEC transfer, Wells is a six-foot wide receiver who comes over from South Carolina. In two seasons with the Gameco*cks, Wells — who is commonly referred to by his nickname, Juice — had 71 receptions, 965 yards and seven touchdowns. He was the No. 26 player and No. 4 wideout in the portal.
Trey Amos
The Rebels will be Amos’ third program over the course of his college career, which has also included stops at Louisiana and Alabama. Last season with the Crimson Tide, the cornerback, rated as the No. 46 player in the portal, had five pass break-ups.
Chris Paul Jr.
The linebacker, who’s not the son of 12-time NBA all-star point guard Chris Paul, just missed cracking the top 50 of 247’s rankings, coming in at No. 51. He comes over from Arkansas, where he racked up 137 total tackles, 15 tackles for loss, six sacks and one forced fumble in three seasons.
