Ole Miss cornerback Zamari Walton comfortable in the Rebels’ defense
OXFORD, Miss. — Heading into the 2023 season, the Ole Miss defense had a lot of questions that needed to be answered quickly because of players the Rebels lost to the portal. After the transfers of some key players in the secondary, including Davison Igbinosun (Ohio State), Markevious Brown (Purdue), and Miles Battle (Utah), Ole Miss had some holes to fill.
However, Lane Kiffin isn’t known as the “Portal King” for no reason, and Ole Miss quickly reloaded — with the No. 3 transfer portal class in the nation. One of the stars of the class, Georgia Tech transfer Zamari Walton, is already making his presence known.
“It was fun,” Walton said of his debut for the Rebels.
“The atmosphere was crazy. I mean I enjoyed it, but I’m not going to lie I was a little nervous the first time I went out [on the field] because it’s just different for me. But after that first play, I felt good.”
Zamari Walton on his SEC and Ole Miss debut
In 2022, as a junior for the Yellow Jackets, Walton was named All-ACC Honorable Mention. After his success last season, the Florida native entered the transfer portal with one year of eligibility remaining.
In his first game in a Rebel uniform, Walton and the Ole Miss secondary held Mercer to 138 passing yards and zero passing touchdowns.
While Ole Miss initially gave up a 75-yard rushing touchdown to Mercer quarterback Carter Peevy on the Bears’ first play of the game, the defense bowed its neck and played well the rest of the game.
When asked how they bounced back from such an unexpected opening play by the Bears, Walton was matter-of-fact.
“Just next play mentality,” Walton said. “Things happen and we just have to focus on the next play and good things will happen.”
After practice Monday, Zamari was asked, specifically, what the corners can improve upon.
”I’d say more communication. Getting adjusted faster and some of the penalties could be taken away. I think overall we did pretty good. Obviously, we could do better, but I think we did a good job for the opener.”
Zamari Walton
A good job, indeed.
The Rebels notched four sacks and 11.5 TFLs while allowing just 142 passing yards and 93 rushing yards. And after giving up that initial 75-yard run, the Ole Miss defense held Mercer to just 18 yards the remainder of the entire game. In his first game at Ole Miss, the 6-foot-3, 190-pound Walton tallied three tackles and one pass breakup.
The Ole Miss secondary also forced a turnover as Liberty transfer Daijahn Anthony stepped up with the interception.
Next up, Tulane
The Rebels secondary will get a fantastic opportunity to prove themselves Saturday as they will face quarterback Michael Pratt and the Cotton Bowl Champion Green Wave.
In Tulane’s week-one win over South Alabama, Pratt completed 93% of his passes and threw for four touchdowns. He finished the week rated No. 5 in the nation in ESPN’s Total QBR, a metric for how well a quarterback plays.
Walton talked about Pratt and the Green Wave offense.
“Explosive offense and fast,” Walton said. “Good quarterback who does a good job facilitating the field with his teammates. We’ll be well prepared, but like I said they’re a pretty good team.”
While it will be a challenge to face a signal caller of Pratt’s talent, Walton feels he his ready.
“I feel comfortable. Everything is going well. I know the whole defense and now I’m just playing. I feel like I’m back in high school, so I’m good.”
Zamari Walton
Game Info
Ole Miss and Tulane kick off at 2:30 p.m. on Saturday in New Orleans. The game will be broadcast on ESPN 2.
Hotty Toddy and Go Rebs!
