With former 5-star Walter Nolen, Lane Kiffin could finally have the defensive talent to win big at Ole Miss

Come Christmas Eve, Lane Kiffin had already received every present he could’ve asked for this holiday season. 

A new contract extension. Ample buy-in from the Grove Collective. And a who’s who of experienced defensive talent from the transfer portal, most of whom bring of wealth of SEC experience. 

How about this transfer portal haul on defense thus far?

Texas A&M defensive tackle Walter Nolen, a former 5-star recruit who had 7.0 sacks last season, per PFF

Florida pass rusher Princely Umanmielen, a second-team All-SEC selection who recorded a team-high 7.0 sacks, 11.5 TFLs

Tennessee edge rusher Tyler Baron, a veteran SEC DL with over 1,500 snaps, 6.0 sacks in 2023

Arkansas linebacker Chris Paul Jr., a 2022 All-SEC Freshman standout, who had 74 tackles and 6.5 TFLs in 2023

Mississippi State cornerback Decamerion Richardson, led the team with 7 PBUs and was a Top 10 corner in the SEC, per PFF

Illinois cornerback Tahaevon Nicholson, multi-year P5 starter, 15 career PBUs

Indiana safety Louis Moore, led the Hoosiers with three picks in 2023

Tennessee safety/nickel Tamarion McDonald, 24 career-starts, can play multiple positions

Oklahoma safety Key Lawerence, has experience in both the Big 12 and SEC, at worst a decent depth piece

Nolan was the prized dessert Sunday night, as the nation’s No. 1 prospect in the Transfers Portal committed to the Rebels over Oregon and others. The former 5-star prospect is a potential 1st-round pick and gives Ole Miss its highest-upside defensive lineman since Robert Nkemdiche. Of the Rebels’ 11 transfers so far this cycle, Nolan, all 6-4, 350 pounds, is easily the biggest and most important pickup. 

Lane Kiffin desperately wanted to add size and length to the OM roster this offseason, and he’s absolutely done just that with the additions of Nolan, Baron, Umanmielen, Moore and others. He’s essentially landed an entire new starting 11 from the portal. 

“We sat in a press conference and this really started in Athens, Georgia. I think you guys sensed my disappointment after that game in the way that I coached and some other things,” Kiffin explained recently at Ole Miss’ post-signing day press conference. 

“I just said ‘We’re going to do everything in our power to change the way that we look. As a team, but especially defensively.’ We might not be very good, but we’re going to look a lot better in our uniforms. A lot of that was signing players that are already significant players in the SEC, that we’ve seen play against these teams. We have not been a very big team. Especially defensively, we’re a very short team. I love our players, I love how hard they play, but length matters at times. That’s why the draft is drafted the way it is. We definitely have improved overall with significant players on offense, but really on defense. A lot more players that I think compete at a high level that gives you a chance to be an elite defense in the SEC.”

Well, Lane Kiffin got his wishes, and now Rebels fans are hoping Santa’s 2023 gifts can help deliver the program their best season in school history in 2024. 

It’s clear that Ole Miss is gunning for a potential berth in the inaugural 12-team College Football Playoff next year. Like a MLB team loading up for a postseason run at the trade deadline, Kiffin, Ole Miss and its boosters have circled next season as a year to do something special. 

No Alabama or Texas on the schedule. Georgia and Oklahoma both come to Oxford. Ole Miss has never made the SEC Championship. The Rebels have never come close to the CFP. 

But if they can truly play even really good defense — much-less “elite” defense — in next fall? 

Lookout. 

The Rebels return quarterback Jaxson Dart, star tailback Quinshon Judkins, as well as playmaking wideouts Tre Harris and Jordan Watkins. They also nabbed a likely All-SEC transfer receiver in Juice Wells and signed the nation’s No. 1 JUCO wideout Deion Smith. Their top two defensive linemen — Jared Ivey and JJ Pegues — have also announced their plans to return to school in 2024. 

This is a team loading up. 

The Rebels will always field a prolific offense with Kiffin calling the shots, but the defense did take some mini-steps forward in 2023 under Pete Golding. They got crushed by Georgia (52-17), but otherwise, the unit wasn’t a total sieve like in years past. 

While their yards per play average looked almost identical from 2022 (5.3 vs. 5.32), they marginally improved their success rate (69th nationally vs. 106th) and scoring defense. There’s plenty more room to get better, but now Kiffin might finally have the pieces to do so.

For the first time since Kiffin got to Oxford, Ole Miss might field an SEC defensive line that can challenge opponents in the trenches on a weekly basis. They also added multiple long and rangy defensive backs who have started a ton of games in the Big Ten, SEC and Big 12.  The Rebels haven’t ranked in the SEC’s Top 5 in scoring defense and yards per play since 2014, but with the pieces assembled, this group has a chance to do just that next fall.  

Ole Miss had never won 10 regular-season games before the 2021 season, and now Kiffin has done it twice in three years. They’ll play Penn State in the Peach Bowl in a week looking for the program’s first 11-win season.  

But with their latest transfer portal additions, they’re no longer just an SEC feel-good story. There’s now real pressure on Kiffin & Co., to take the Land Shark hive into uncharted waters in 2024. It’s been a good Christmas for Kiffin and the Rebels, and this time next year, we’ll know just how good it truly was.