One thing we aren’t talking enough about going into the 2026 Season: Ole Miss

Amber Searls-Imagn Images

By Chris Marler

We continue our positivity series by highlighting one thing we aren’t talking about enough for each SEC team. Today, we head to Oxford, as we spotlight one underrated positive for the Ole Miss Rebels football heading into the 2026 season.

The transfer portal class

Ole Miss is no stranger to dominating the transfer portal. Under Lane Kiffin, they finished with a top four transfer portal class every year.

Now, the self-proclaimed “Portal King” is in Baton Rouge, and people around Oxford, Mississippi, have started calling him a few very different things. Still, Pete Golding picked up right where he left off and was incredible in the portal in his first cycle.

Pete Golding & Ole Miss currently have the 2nd highest rated transfer portal class

Pretty big deal for a first year Head Coach. #HottyToddy pic.twitter.com/xl6nUnJBaZ

— Sidelines – Ole Miss (@SSN_OleMiss) January 15, 2026

Golding didn’t finish with the number one ranked class like Kiffin, but he wasn’t far behind. According to 247Sports, Ole Miss finished at No. 2. Not too bad for Golding.

What stood out most wasn’t the rankings or even the 88.69 average player rating, which topped LSU’s. He brought in an impressive caliber of players.

Over half of the 29 players he brought in from this year’s portal class has played in the SEC. Even more impressive, over 40 percent of the players earned four-star or higher grades in the portal rankings. That’s difficult to pull off. Recruiting evaluators hand out blue-chip grades far less freely in the transfer portal than they do in high school recruiting.

Pete Golding and his squad went on a tear and added elite players at every level of the defense. They also reloaded the offensive weapons with plenty of talent, too.

Guys like Jordan Renaud from Alabama at EDGE, LB Luke Ferrelli from Clemson and former freshman All-American Jay Crawford from Auburn should be instant impact players for the Rebels on defense.

They also started to build for the future with guys like TE Michael Smith from South Carolina and former five-star Deuce Knight at QB from Auburn. And, if former five-star Johntay Cook can get out of his own way and be anything close to what he was as a recruit, watch out. He’s one of three former five-stars that Ole Miss brought in on the offense.

Suntarine Perkins

Then, there’s the one player that has been seemingly forgotten about for some unknown reason, Suntarine Perkins. Perkins, another former five-star, had a dip in production a season ago. However, he is one of the best linebackers and pass rushers in the country. He racked up 18.5 sacks and 32 TFLs in three years.

So much was made about Princewill Umanmielen leaving for LSU, but it didn’t leave the cupboard remotely bare in Oxford. Perkins will be one of the best defensive players in the league once again, and all of that is something we are not talking about enough heading into the 2026 season.