Ole Miss lands star UTSA transfer wide receiver Zakhari Franklin
OXFORD, Miss. — Ole Miss head coach Lane Kiffin and staff continue their quest to build a roster that will withstand the rigors of the Southeastern Conference, and on Saturday they received a commitment from highly-coveted UTSA transfer wide receiver Zakhari Franklin — the highest-rated player remaining in the portal.
Franklin, a Cedar Hill, Texas, native is listed at 6-foot-1, 185 pounds. Cedar Hill is the same school that produced Rebel great DaMarkus Lodge.
Franklin announced his commitment on Twitter Saturday.
I Reached Every Goal Had To Write Another List! #HottyToddy 🔴🔵 pic.twitter.com/wz8WJ55lxg
— 💤 (@ZakhariFranklin) June 3, 2023
Coach Kiffin continues to cement his status as ‘portal king’ as many of the nation’s best are choosing to head to Oxford. Franklin is the UTSA record holder for the most single-game, single-season and career receptions.
The speedy receiver also owns the highest single-season and career receiving yardage marks, as well as the most single-season and career touchdown catches in school history.
With the departure recently of A&M transfer Chris Marshall, the Rebels have been searching for another talented wide receiver, and they’ve certainly found that in Zakhari.
He is one of the most explosive wide receivers in the country, producing back-to-back 1000-yard seasons at UTSA, the first time that had been done by a Roadrunner wide receiver in school history.
𝐅𝐈𝐑𝐒𝐓 𝐓𝐄𝐀𝐌 𝐀𝐋𝐋-𝐂𝐎𝐍𝐅𝐄𝐑𝐄𝐍𝐂𝐄
UTSA led the league with 6️⃣ first-team All-Conference USA selections this year.#210TriangleOfToughness #LetsGo210 | #BirdsUp 🤙 pic.twitter.com/8kwyfFuiD0
— UTSA Football 🏈 (@UTSAFTBL) December 6, 2022
TD Blocks and Speed with ball in hand! #Zone6🚨@joshua_cephus @ZakhariFranklin https://t.co/f33bh4P3rA
— Joe Price III (@CoachJP3) December 3, 2022
The former Honorable Mention All-American was nothing short of prolific for UTSA, finishing with 262 catches for 3,348 yards and 37 touchdowns in his four seasons in San Antonio. He finished the 2022 season with 94 receptions for 1,136 yards and 15 touchdowns.
Record breaking catch 💥
Zakhari Franklin now holds the record for most touchdown catches in a C-USA Championship game with 3!
— Conference USA (@ConferenceUSA) December 3, 2022
His production could quickly be a force for the Rebel receiving corps and will be quite the addition to the offensive arsenal heading into fall camp
Alexa…
Play “Break’em Off” by @paulwallbabySheesh… @ZakhariFranklin https://t.co/ZVmWMo4yJe
— Joe Price III (@CoachJP3) November 19, 2022
Welcome to the ‘Sip, Zakhari!
Stay tuned to The Rebel Walk for the latest recruiting updates.
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.



