Three more Ole Miss football Rebels hit the NCAA Transfer Portal on Friday
The NCAA Transfer Portal continues to give and take away from Ole Miss football.
Shane Hooks last week committed to the Rebels. However, he de-committed on Friday, while three Rebels who went through spring (wide receiver Brandon Buckhaulter, running back Matt Jones and defensive tackle JJ Hawkins) also all jumped in.
Ole Miss had three spring practices remaining following the annual Grove Bowl two weeks ago. However, now-fourth-year head coach Lane Kiffin opted against using them to instead focus on his program’s current recruiting efforts, specifically in the portal.
Ole Miss Spirit publisher Chuck Rounsaville named Hawkins among his top spring performers who had worked their way into serious consideration for playing headed into the summer and fall camp in August. He played in four games last season with one tackle — a sack against Georgia Tech.
Hawkins has three years of eligibility remaining, as does Buckhaulter.
Buckhaulter impressed in spring as well, especially in the quick chemistry he seemingly built with first-year Ole Miss quarterback Walker Howard.
Howard transferred to Ole Miss from SEC West rival LSU over the winter. He’s competing with incumbent Jaxson Dart and Oklahoma State transfer Spencer Sanders to be Ole Miss’ starting quarterback. Buckhaulter mostly played special teams over his 11 games last season. He has three years of eligibility remaining.
Jones is a former walk-on who was awarded (along with cornerback Richard O’Bryant) the annual Park Stevens Memorial Scholarship for his play over the spring. He saw plenty of snaps as Ole Miss intentionally limited its star running back, Quinshon Judkins.
Judkins last season set the single-season school record for rushing yards as a true freshman. His primary backup, Ulysses Bentley, mostly led the way in the spring as he looks to take a step following an injury-riddled debut Rebel season. He’s a one-time transfer from SMU.
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Jones has three years left, too.
RELATED: For Ole Miss football, portal entries cut both way
Ole Miss has had seven player enter the portal this month.
Linebacker Reggie Hughes recently got in but withdrew his name a day later.
The others are offensive lineman Flip Carswell, cornerback Braxton Myers, defensive backs Demarko Williams, Elijah Sabbatini and Markevious Brown and defensive lineman Tywone Malone.
All but Myers were depth pieces. Myers was a four-star signee in November. He enrolled early and participated in spring. His primary recruiter at Ole Miss, Sam Carter, left after one season for the same position (cornerbacks coach) at Purdue. Myers recently visited there.
Malone is a former four-star and Top 100 recruit from the 2021 cycle. He’s also arguably the headliner of the group. Sources indicate Malone and Brown — himself a former four-star recruit — originally got into the portal as negotiating leverage for higher NIL deals with Ole Miss.
The Rebels are currently pursuing, among others, UAB safety Jaylen Key and USF EDGE Eddie Kelly. Kelly was offered by Ole Miss six days ago and immediately scheduled a visit to campus.
“Everybody thinks it’s good because you’re going to go get pieces,” Kiffin previously said of the spring portal window. “You lose some pieces as well. You can go add, but you’ve got to worry about what you lose, too.”
