Nothing brings happiness to an Ole Miss fan like one simple emoji posted to social media by defensive coordinator Pete Golding, who has quickly given head coach Lane Kiffin a run for his money for the title of “portal king.”
Golding, a man of few words at least when it comes to X, has not posted anything other than an emoji dating back to his time at Alabama when working as Nick Saban’s defensive coordinator. Reposts excluded, Golding hasn’t posted a full sentence to social media since Jan. 11, 2021.
And that’s completely okay with fans of whatever team Golding is coaching for. When he was in Tuscaloosa, he would post an elephant emoji. Ever since coming to Oxford in 2022, the elephant has been replaced by a shark, and all of it has the same meaning – a big-time recruit has been landed.
Since the end of the regular season, Ole Miss has landed a plethora of commitments from other programs with the latest being the No. 1 transfer defensive lineman in the nation in former Texas A&M star Walter Nolen.
Nolen, who had 37 tackles and four sacks during his sophomore campaign in College Station, joins a star-studded list of other defensive commitments, including:
- Edge Princely Umanmielen (Florida): 39 tackles and seven sacks in 2023
- Defensive back Tamarion McDonald (Tennessee): 40 tackles, one interception, and one sack in 2023
- Edge Tyler Baron (Tennessee): 28 tackles, six sacks, and one fumble recovery in 2023
- Linebacker Chris Paul, Jr. (Arkansas): 74 tackles, two sacks, and one pass breakup in 2023
- Defensive back Tahveon Nicholson (Illinois): 36 tackles, six pass breakups, and two forced fumbles in 2023
- Safety Louis Moore (Indiana): 83 tackles, three interceptions, three forced fumbles, and one pass deflected in 2023
- Safety Key Lawrence (Oklahoma): 44 tackles, three passes deflected, two interceptions, and one forced fumble in 2023
- Defensive back Decamerion Richardson (Mississippi State): 79 tackles, seven passes deflected, and one sack in 2023
Offensively, the Rebels have added:
- Wide receiver Deion Smith (Holmes CC): 1,063 yards and 12 touchdowns in 2023
- Offensive lineman Gerquan Scott (Southern Miss): 12 starts in 2023 and 28 total starts in his college career
- Wide receiver Antwane Wells, Jr. (South Carolina): 37 yards and one touchdown in 2023
- Wide receiver Devin Price (Florida Atlantic): 120 yards and one touchdown in 2023
Smith and Wells join a receiving corps that returns several key pieces in Tre Harris, Jordan Watkins, Ayden Williams, and Caden Prieskorn.
J.T. Mitchell contributed to this report
