Ole Miss adds experienced FAU transfer Teja Young, an All-CUSA safety
OXFORD, Miss. — Ole Miss football continues to make masterful moves when it comes to roster building, and the addition Tuesday of FAU transfer safety Teja Young is no exception.
Before the addition of Young, the Rebels’ transfer portal class was ranked No. 5 in the nation by 247Sports.
The 5-foot-11, 192 pound Young is from West Palm Beach, Florida. He entered the portal just a few weeks ago, didn’t waste any time finding his next home here in Oxford, announcing his decision on Twitter.
— Teja Young (@teja2k) June 6, 2023
Young was heavily pursued by both Florida State and North Carolina but chose to go with the Rebs.
Last season, Young was named team co-captain and saw action in 10 games, notching 48 total tackles, seven pass breakups and two interceptions.
In 2021, he accumulated 58 tackles, 34 of which were solo. That season, he also forced a fumble, recorded five pass breakups, and picked off five on his way to being named first-team All-CUSA.
Nobody is catching @teja2k! 💨
Pick Six FAU!@FAUFootball | #CUSAFB pic.twitter.com/t9if3EKM0Y
— Conference USA (@ConferenceUSA) October 1, 2022
Young has earned nothing less than honorable mention All-CUSA each year with FAU.
In his career with the Owls, Young notched at total of 159 tackles, seven INTs and four pick-sixes. His four pick-sixes make him the all-time leader in that category for the Owls.
Young is a product of Palm Beach Lake High school where as a recruit he was ranked as a three-star prospect during the 2018 recruiting cycle; he originally committed to Colorado but later flipped to FAU.
There is no question that head coach Lane Kiffin, defensive coordinator Pete Golding, cornerbacks coach Keynodo Hudson and safeties coach Wes Neighbors have added yet another productive playmaker who can make an instant impact on the Rebels’ defense.
The addition of Young is especially important as Ole Miss looks to replace starting safeties AJ Finley and Otis Reese who are now in the NFL.
Welcome to the ‘Sip, Teja!
Lee Ann Herring-Olvedo
Herring-Olvedo sees college football the way championship programs do—from inside the personnel room. Every evaluation, every roster move, every recruiting battle tells a bigger story about identity, culture, and how a program is built to win in December, not just July.
With more than 15 years covering the SEC and the national recruiting landscape, Herring-Olvedo has built a reputation as one of the sport’s most respected personnel-driven voices—blending film evaluation, roster construction, and long-term program vision through a true front-office lens. Her coverage of powerhouse brands like Ole Miss Rebels and Kentucky Wildcatshas consistently gone beyond headlines, focusing instead on the blueprint behind winning programs: development, fit, culture, and recruiting strategy.
That foundation was formed early at Brown University, where she worked in player personnel and recruiting while competing as a student-athlete. Inside those recruiting operations rooms, she learned how elite organizations are truly built—through relentless evaluation, relationship building, projection, and trust in the board. Those experiences shaped the way she studies the game today: part scout, part storyteller, part architect.
Her analysis and reporting have appeared across major platforms including ESPN, NFL coverage spaces, USA Today Sports, and Saturday Down South. She also brought her personnel-minded approach to the airwaves as an on-air analyst for the Wake Up 502 College Football Show on Big X Sports Radio 96.1, where she became known for combining film-room detail with a wider understanding of roster identity and program trajectory.
In 2025, covering the rise of Houston Cougars football under Willie Fritz reignited the part of the sport that first drew her into football—the culture, the edge, the belief that a roster can reshape an entire city. That inspiration led to the launch of Coogs 365 Sports, a platform built to cover Houston athletics through a true scouting and recruiting lens while connecting the emotion of the game to the heartbeat of H-Town.
Now, Herring-Olvedo returns to The Rebel Walk where with an even deeper perspective shaped by years inside recruiting circles, national SEC coverage, and hands-on evaluation experience. Her return brings a familiar voice back to Ole Miss coverage—but with an evolved lens rooted in roster architecture, player development, and the modern realities of building championship-caliber football in the NIL and portal era.
For Herring-Olvedo, recruiting has never been about stars beside a name. It is about identifying competitors, projecting growth, and building a locker room capable of sustaining success. Her philosophy mirrors the best front offices in football: stack traits, trust culture, and never stop building.
