Cedric Johnson shares initial impressions of Pete Golding

A new sheriff is running Ole Miss‘ defense and Lane Kiffin is excited to have him. Defensive coordinator Pete Golding crosses state lines and will be hoping to have an instant impact for the 2023 season. Some in Tuscaloosa may have not been happy with Golding but similar results in Oxford will have people buzzing.

As you might expect, a ton of questions surrounding Golding were asked at SEC Media days. Cedric Johnson was able to give his initial impressions of Golding, already having a vision of how Ole Miss’ problems are going to be fixed. Johnson sees the personal side of his defensive coordinator as well, calling him a funny guy,

“I like him a lot,” Johnson said on Thursday at SEC Media Days. “He’s funny. If you didn’t know, he’s a pretty funny guy. I really like him, how particular in detail he is in the defense.

“But he doesn’t stray away from at the end of the day we just playing ball, play the game you love, play hard, play fast, play physical. That will take care of the majority of our problems, take care of the majority of things. That’s the main thing.”

With a new defensive coordinator comes a new role for Johnson. Golding is going to want his EDGE players to drop back into coverage every so often. But as mentioned, the physicality is going to matter when going up against SEC tackles.

Johnson described the possibility as “fun” for him and all of his teammates. Truly a new approach for every player up front heading into the 2023 season.

“My role, I feel like I’m going to be moving a lot more, might be dropping back some, coming off the edge like I usually do,” Johnson said. “It’s going to be a lot more fun for me, just the D-line in general.”

Johnson is entering his fourth season at Ole Miss, hoping it’s his best. He recorded 32 tackles last year, adding 4.5 tackles for a loss and four sacks. Getting into the backfield and to quarterbacks has been his main focus thus far.

Golding will now attempt to add to Johnson’s skill set. Dropping into coverage at a higher rate will become part of the weekly plan. But at the end of the day, wreaking havoc at the line of scrimmage is why Johnson is one of the best for Ole Miss.