‘What’s up, Big Daddy?’: Chris ‘Pooh’ Paul’s journey to Ole Miss and, now, the Ivey League
Star Ole Miss defensive lineman Jared Ivey welcomes you to the ‘Ivey League,’ a weekly podcast powered by RiverLand Roofing, and in association with the Ole Miss Spirit.
First up in the ‘Ivey League’ is Chris ‘Pooh’ Paul, Jr., a transfer linebacker from Arkansas. Paul, Jr., was one of 31 new mid-year enrollees, including 17 transfers, added to the Rebel football roster over the winter.
The 6-foot-1, 233-pound Paul, Jr., was ranked by On3 as the No. 3 overall player at his position in the NCAA Transfer Portal. The wide-held expectation in and around the program is Paul, Jr., will step in and start for an Ole Miss linebacker corps now without Jeremiah Jean-Baptiste, Monty Montgomery and Ashanti Cistrunk.
Paul, Jr., details his path to Ole Miss, which first almost landed him at Florida State, and later made him an All-SEC honoree for the SEC-rival Razorbacks. He totaled 137 tackles, 15.0 tackles for loss, six sacks and one forced fumble over three seasons in Fayetteville.
But he hit the portal in the off-season in search of something more. Paul, Jr., has seemingly found his fit with the Rebels, who were the first school to reach out once he got into the portal in November.
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Ole Miss put on the full-court press and never let up. Other schools barely stood a chance.
“What’s crazy is, my first day here, I committed to the University of Mississippi,” Paul, Jr., said. The Rebels have title aspirations in 2024. The College Football Playoff expands to 12 teams. Ole Miss, last season, won 11 games for the first time in school history.
Paul, Jr., continued: “I hadn’t even taken a photoshoot yet. Just talking with (Ole Miss defensive coordinator and linebackers) coach (Pete) Golding and (Rebel head) coach (Lane) Kiffin, those guys are genuine. They mean what they say and they say what they mean. I was talking with them and could just feel the vibe.
“I talked to (Ivey) for a little bit in the portal (and) to JJ Pegues a whole bunch. TJ Dudley hit me up a whole bunch in the portal. Even on (Ole Miss quarterback Jaxson) Dart, I’d FaceTime him, and me and him would play Fortnite.”
Paul, Jr., also provides insight into his commitment phone call to Golding, another with the now-retired legend Nick Saban, early impressions of Kam Franklin, who was Mississippi’s top recruit in the 2024 class, and much, much more.
