There was quite literally no time for Pete Golding to ease his way into the head coach’s chair. His first game as the Ole Miss head coach was a Playoff game. His second was a College Football Playoff quarterfinal game against the SEC champs. The very next day, the transfer portal opened.
Golding has been up to the challenge and, for the most part, has passed every test. The Rebels lost in the CFP semifinals to Miami, ending the best season in program history, but Golding helped create some momentum following the defection of Lane Kiffin. That is true on the field and in the locker room.
On Saturday, ESPN’s Max Olson named 10 programs that are off to the hottest starts in the transfer portal. Ole Miss, with 8 commitments, was among the 10.
Here’s what Olson wrote on the Rebels:
Pete Golding was always a talented recruiter for Ole Miss as defensive coordinator. Now, he’s really cooking as the new head coach. The Rebels needed to stock up on defense while still focusing on preparing for another College Football Playoff game, and he quickly took care of business with a rapid run of commitments. Crawford was a two-year starting corner at Auburn, Thomas was one of the top linebackers in the Big 12 at Baylor and Maldonado could be one of the biggest steals among pass rushers who hit the portal. Curne following Frank Wilson from LSU to Oxford was a nice win, as well.
More importantly, though, Ole Miss continues to stack wins in the fight to retain its roster for 2026, with All-America running back Kewan Lacy and eight more players who started games in 2025 publicly pledging they plan to return and keep playing for Golding. With the season over, the battle continues in trying to keep returning players out of the portal. The Rebels need to make some moves at QB, too, now that the NCAA has denied Trinidad Chambliss’ waiver seeking an additional year of eligibility.
Despite the coaching change prior to the CFP run, Ole Miss did well to hang on to its rotation while it was still playing.
Players have started to hit the portal since Thursday night’s loss, but Ole Miss also hasn’t been hammered by portal departures in the way that we’ve come to expect from teams that change head coaches. That’s a testament to Golding’s work as well.
Ole Miss named by ESPN as one of teams off to best portal start Saturday Down South.
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