Rebs at Work: Ole Miss’ Chris Graves, Diego Pounds and Dae'Quan Wright in action
Ole Miss is busy adding in the second NCAA Transfer Portal window.
Never to be forgotten, however, is the impressive work the Rebels got in before their recently-completed bout of spring football practices.
The Rebels landed a class ranked No. 3 in the country by On3. Among the headliners was Walter Nolen, the portal’s No. 2 overall player. Nolen is a former five-star and defense tackle from Texas A&M.
Florida EDGE Princely Umanmielen was another prize. Umanmielen, though, is currently sidelined as he recovers from labrum surgery, making defensive end a need again for the Rebels.
Fortunately, Ole Miss seems pretty well-settled on the other side of the line of scrimmage — a position made a priority by Lane Kiffin and staff in the off-season. Sure, they’re still keeping their options open, but the offensive line was padded with such players as Diego Pounds.
Pounds, previously of North Carolina, is expected to step in and start at left tackle once healthy. He was limited in the spring due to injury.
“Ole Miss, everybody’s talking about it right now,” Pounds said last month, in making an appearance on the Ole Miss Spirit’s ‘Ivey League’ podcast, hosted by third-year star Rebel defender Jared Ivey.
“‘Cause y’all are getting all these players out of the portal. So, as soon as I hit the portal and I realized I had an opportunity to come here? And with (Ole Miss offensive line) coach (John) Garrison being here
“Coach Garrison recruited me out of high school at NC State. Me and him had a really good connection; he had a (NFL) first-rounder under him at NC State. (Ole Miss) was kind of a no-brainer.”
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‘Ivey League’ Admissions: Umanmielen was praising Ole Miss, not throwing shade at Florida
Ole Miss got better in the margins, too.
Dae’Quan Wright came to Ole Miss by way of Virginia Tech as the expected primary back-up to Caden Prieskorn at tight end.
“(Wright’s) an experienced player,” Ole Miss head coach Lane Kiffin said last month. “I think he led the ACC in tight-end catches, even. That’s really good, obviously.
“Key, to me, in becoming an elite team that stays there instead of, like, ‘Oh, you have a run one year and then you’re back down for two or three,’ it’s important to have depth like that. You’re going to have seasons where things don’t go your way and you get some injuries and some bad breaks.
“In order to survive those, you better have depth.”
Chris Graves, a sophomore, transferred in from Miami (Fla.) prior to last season and played in a handful of games for the Rebels. He’s a candidate to start at one of two now-vacant spots at corner.
Others include Trey Amos, formerly of Alabama, and Amorion Walker, formerly of Michigan. Both were signed in the off-season.
The Spirit tracked Graves, Pounds and Wright at a recent Ole Miss practice. Those highlights make up the included video below.
