Ole Miss Football Roster Status: February 2023. Lane Kiffin, Rebels, Depth Chart.

During the recruitment period of the first transfer portal of the midseason, which lasted from December 5 to January 18, more than 1,800 players entered the portal. The second, shorter transfer portal window opens on May 1st and runs until May 15th. Arguably the biggest beneficiary of the 2021 portal season, Ole Miss walked the portal quite a bit in 2022, but also lost more valuable players to other programs. out of season. With the evolution of the college football transfer portal era, the 25 scholarship limit per signing class is now gone; roster turnover has never been crazier.

Fortunately for you, the reader, I compulsively follow Ole Miss roster developments. With this post, my goal is to provide a (mostly) complete look at how the 2023 Ole Miss team is shaping up from a personnel perspective.

First, let’s start with who is leaving. The Rebel players who hit the portal during the December window are:

• QB Luke Altmeyer (Illinois)
• QB Kinkead Dent
• RB Kentrell Bullock (South Alabama)
• RB Isaiah Woullard (UL-Monroe)
• WR Jaylon Robinson (TCU)
• WR Dannis Jackson (Mizzou)
• OL Hamilton Hall (Arkansas State)
• OL Jalen Cunningham (Arkansas State)
• OL Erick Cade
• OL Tobias Braun (Arkansas State)
• OL/DL Luke Shouse
• DL Isaiah Iton (Rutgers)
• EDGE Brandon Mack (Houston)
• EDGE Demon Clowney (Charlotte)
• LB Austin Keys (Auburn)
• LB/S Jaron Willis (South Carolina)
• CB Davison Igbinosu (Ohio State)
• CB Miles Battle (Utah)
• CB Kyndrich Breedlove (Colorado)
• S Tysheem Johnson (Oregon)
• S MJ Daniels (USM)
• S Derek Bermudez
• S Roman Rashada
• S Dashaun Jerkins (UMass)

***WR Bralon Brown, DL Jamond Gordon and LB Ashanti Cistrunk entered the portal but rejoined the team for spring ball***

A total of 24 players; 10 in attack, 14 in defence. Of those 24, four have recorded all starts in the last couple of years (T. Johnson, D. Igbinosun, M. Battle, A. Keys) and five others (J. Robinson, J. Willis, M. Daniels, D. Jerkins, K. Breedlove) seemed in line to contribute heavily in 2023. So while most of these portal entries can be considered “healthy,” it’s still quite an accomplishment to replace 24 scholarship players on top of graduating guys. and/or going to the NFL. This Player List is mostly settled; Here’s my best guess at the players who will graduate and/or leave for the NFL:

• RB Zach Evans
• WR Jonathan Mingo
• WR Malik Heath
• TE Jonathan Hess
• OL Nick Broeker
• OL Mason Brooks
• DL KD Hill
• DL Tavious Robinson
• LB Troy Brown
• S AJ Finley
• S Otis Reese
• K Jonathan Cruz

So, taking into account the current roster and then removing portal entries and seniors/other early departures, here are Ole Miss’ likely scholarship players, sorted by position:

QB: (1)

RB: (2)

• Quinshon Judkins
• Ulysses Bentley IV

WR: (8)

• Jordan Watkins
• Dayton Wade (Wade was a walk-on but I expect him to get a scholarship)
• Jalen Knox
• JJ Henry
• Brandon Buckhaulter
• Bralon brown
• Larry Simmons
• Jeremiah Dillon

: (4)

• Michael Trigg
• Casey Kelly
• Kyrin Heath
• Hudson Wolfe

OL: (11)

• Jayden Williams
• Eli Acker
• Caleb Warren
• Jeremy James
• Micah Bettus
• Cedric Nice
• Cedric Melton
• Cam East
• Reece McIntyre
• Falentha Carswell
• Preston Cushman

DL: (11)

• JJ Pegues
• Cedric Johnson
• Jared Ivey
• Xavian Harris
• Tywon Malone
• Jamond Gordon
• Rollins landing
• JJ Hawkins
• Like Brown
• Demarcus Smith
• Jaden Dicks

LB: (5)

• Khari Coleman
• Ashanti Cistrunk
• White trip
• Tyler Banks
• Reginald Hughes

CB: (4)

• Deantre Prince
• Significant brown
• Demark Williams
• Jarrell Stinson

S: (6)

• Isheem Young
• Ladarius Tennison
• Trey Washington
• Taylor Groves
• Nick Cull
• Elia Sabbatini

Q: (1)

P: (1)

That’s 54 returning scholarship players. Ole Miss signed 12 players during the early signing period and four more during the later signing period, for a total of 16 incoming freshmen/JUCOs. Those 16 are:

• RB Kedrick Reescano
• WR Ayden Williams
• WR Caden Lee
• TE Jayvontay Conner
• OL Brycen Sanders
• OL Ethan Fields
• OL Diamond Power (JUCO)
• DL Jamarious Brown
• DL Chamberlain Campbell
• DL DeeJay Holmes
• LB Suntarine Perkins
• LB Skielar Mann
• LB Jameer Lewis (JUCO)
• DB Braxton Myers
• DB Ahmad Brown
• DB Daniel Demery

This brings us to a total of 70 scholarship players. Then we factor in Rebels’ 12 portal additions:

• QB Walker Howard
• QB Spencer Sanders
• WR Chris Marshall
• WR Tre Harris
• TE Caden Prieskorn
• OL Quincy McGee
• OL Victor Curne
• DL Joshua Harris
• LB Monty Montomery
• LB Jeremiah Jean-Baptiste
• CB John Saunders
• CB Zamari Walton

You may notice that I left North Texas DB DeShawn Gaddie off this list. He committed to the Rebels but was not part of the group announced by the OM football team’s social media team. He seems to have some kind of writing problem. I think they will add him eventually, but maybe not until the summer.

That looks to put Ole Miss at 83 scholarship players, leaving Lane Kiffin with only two scholarships to play in the second portal period. That number could increase a bit as current players can come into the portal or decide not to use their extra year of COVID eligibility, and I can even think of a couple of guys who could retire for health reasons.

The scholarships are split relatively evenly: 41 on offense, 40 on defense and two on special teams. The position groups are also mostly balanced, although a couple of things stand out:

1. Currently there are only three grants; one of them was hyped all of 2022 (Bentley IV), and the other will be a true freshman that I don’t think will benefit from Spring Ball (Reescano).
2. There are currently six tight ends on the roster (Prieskorn, Trigg, Kelly, Heath, Conner, Wolfe), which seems a bit bloated, imo.

Aside from potential movement at those two spots, I think Lane Kiffin will try to use the second portal period to add the best players available, mostly targeting defensive line, linebacker and safety.

I’ve included a screenshot of the rough spreadsheet I’ve been using to track list changes. Keep in mind that the order of players (and in some cases even the position in which they are listed) is purely speculative on my part.

Leave us a comment and let us know what you think of the upcoming list for 2023, and if we’ve made any mistakes (which is more likely than not), don’t hesitate to correct us.