Lane Kiffin and Pete Golding Have Reloaded the Ole Miss Secondary and it’s Built for Success in 2024

OXFORD, Miss. – The Ole Miss football team will be without a large amount of last season’s production in the secondary after losing eight players this offseason via the transfer portal and the NFL draft. But have no fear, head coach Lane Kiffin and defensive coordinator Pete Golding have worked hard to reload with ultra-talented athletes who look to contribute immediately.

With spring camp just around the corner, we are checking in on each of this position groups, and today we dive into each secondary player currently on the roster. 

Cornerbacks

Most notably, the newly-hired Rebel secondary coach Bryan Brown will have to replace Zamari Walton and Deantre Prince, Ole Miss’ starting cornerbacks from the 2023 season.

Here is a look into what the cornerback room looks like ahead of the spring. 

Junior Transfer: Amorion Walker
6-foot-3, 180 lbs. | Ponchatoula, La. / Michigan

Walker transferred to Ole Miss in January, leaving the defending National Champion Wolverines. He adds a much-needed piece to what is considered to be a playoff-contending Ole Miss defense for 2024. The Louisiana native was a 3-star athlete coming out of high school, playing wideout and defensive back.

Walker appeared in five games last season for the Wolverines, recording three tackles, a tackle for loss and a pass breakup. Most of Walker’s appearances in a Michigan uniform came in conference games, as well as the 2023 Big Ten Championship.  

Senior Transfer Brandon Turnage
6-foot-1, 185 lbs. | Oxford, Miss. / Tennessee

Turnage returns home to Lafayette County after stops at Alabama and Tennessee. The senior is a former 4-star recruit who was heavily pursued by Ole Miss out of high school.

The Oxford native has 48 career tackles, six pass breakups and an interception, with most of his playing time being from his stint in Knoxville.

Senior Transfer Trey Amos
6-foot-1, 200 lbs. | New Iberia, La. / Alabama

Amos is another double transfer with previous stops at ULL (Louisiana) and Alabama. The senior brings much-needed size to the Rebel secondary along with the potential to be one of the top lockdown corners in the SEC. 

The former Alabama safety arrives in Oxford with 72 career tackles and 18 pass breakups, with five of those pass breakups coming from his 2023 season with the Crimson Tide. 

JUCO Transfer Cedrick Beavers
5-foot-10, 180 lbs. | Taylorsville, Miss. / Jones CC

Beavers spent the 2023 fall semester at Jones Community College in Mississippi where he played all nine games this past season. The junior college standout was a 3-star recruit and the second highest-ranked cornerback in the 2024 JUCO class.  

Finishing sixth on the team overall, Beavers racked up 33 total tackles a season ago along with three interceptions and three pass breakups. He joins former Jones CC teammate linebacker Raymond Collins on the Ole Miss roster as well. 

Sophomore Chris Graves
6-foot-1, 175 lbs. | Fort Myers, Fla. / Miami

Graves is the only corner from last year’s Ole Miss squad with significant playing time returning in 2024. The Florida native appeared in all 13 games for the Rebels in 2023, finding himself in the corner rotation late in the season. 

The Miami transfer recorded 13 tackles a season ago, adding 3 pass breakups that all came in the ULM game. Graves is another guy in the defensive back room who has the potential to be a lockdown corner in the SEC. 

Other cornerbacks listed on the roster are returners: Richard O’Bryant, Jarell Stinson, AJ Brown and Nyseer Fullwood-Theodor.

Safeties

Perhaps the most crowded room on the team, the safety group coached by Wes Neighbors looks to be one of the deepest positions on the roster with a pair of ‘everyday’ starters returning for one more year.

Here is a look into the Ole Miss safety group ahead of the spring. 

John Saunders Jr.,
6-foot-2, 200 lbs. | High Point, N.C. / Miami (Ohio)

Saunders Jr. arrived in Oxford last spring and quietly became one of the most important players on Pete Golding’s defense. Amongst all the new faces on the ‘Landshark’ defense, Saunders Jr. will be one of the few familiar faces for Rebel fans come springtime. 

The senior defensive back appeared in all 13 games for Ole Miss in 2023, recording 65 tackles (second-most among returners), three interceptions and four pass breakups. Saunders Jr. will be a much-needed veteran for an Ole Miss defense that will be getting used to playing alongside each other in the spring. 

Trey Washington
5-foot-11, 205 lbs. | Trussville, Ala.

Washington led the Rebel defense in tackles in 2023 with 83 tackles. The returning starter was also tied for the team high in interceptions on the year with three. 

Defensive coordinator Pete Golding will need leaders on a new-look defense in 2024, and I would look to see Washington and Saunders Jr. take on that challenge in the spring. 

Senior Transfer Louis Moore
6-foot-1, 190 lbs. | Mesquite, Texas / Indiana

Golding certainly went after a specific ‘type’ of player when searching for safeties in the transfer portal this offseason, and Moore is no exception. The Indiana transfer is just one of the multiple ‘hard-hitting’ safeties that will be featured in the Ole Miss secondary this spring.  

In two seasons at Indiana, Moore racked up 92 tackles, three interceptions and forced four fumbles. Here’s a link to an interview we did with Moore recently. 

Senior Transfer Key Lawrence
6-foot-1, 205 lbs. | Nashville, Tennessee / Oklahoma

Lawerence comes to Oxford as another member of the ‘hard-hitting’ safeties from the transfer portal. However, he also might be the most-experienced transfer from the entire class with a track record of one season at Tennessee followed by three at Oklahoma. 

In four years of Power Five football, Lawrence racked up 156 tackles, 11 pass breakups, six forced fumbles and three interceptions. 

Senior Transfer Yam Banks
6-foot-1, 210 lbs. | Ridgeland, Miss. / South Alabama

Banks rounds out the elite-level talent that chose to come to Ole Miss in the portal, also being one of the more experienced players in the class. Outside of the two returning safeties, look for the Mississippi native to be one of the transfers running with the starters early. 

In four seasons at South Alabama, Banks tallied 146 tackles, 16 pass breakups, seven interceptions, three forced fumbles and 2.5 sacks

Other names to watch in the crowded safety unit include: Travaris Banks, Anthony Robinson III, Daniel Demery, Andy Jaffe, Jadon Canady, Nick Cull, Antione Johnson, Zach Johansen, and Harrison Craig. 

Up Next

The Ole Miss football team has already begun spring conditioning workouts and will soon start spring camp that will culminate with the Grove Bowl in April. Stay tuned for updates!