Transfer Portal Linebacker Rodney Groce Jr. Commits to Lane Kiffin, Ole Miss
OXFORD, Miss. — The Ole Miss football team is close to kick-off on August 31st, and things are amped up — not just out in Oxford but also in the transfer portal where head coach Lane Kiffin continues to gather talent. Late Wednesday afternoon, the Rebels received another commit in the form of former UTSA linebacker Rodney Groce, Jr. He’s another experienced athlete who will bring a ton to the table for one of this season’s most talked about defensive units.
— Rodney Groce Jr (@rodneygroce_) October 28, 2022
Groce has had his fair share of stops, but he has grown and developed. Out of high school, he was committed to and attended Mississippi State. After one season, he headed out west to Arizona State before returning back to Mississippi where he spent time at East Mississippi Community College.
Groce then returned back to the DI ranks in San Antonio for the Roadrunners at UTSA. While he hasn’t had a lot of eyes on him, he brings a skill-set that will be welcome in Oxford.
The Pleasant Years
Groce was a three-star prospect out of Pleasant Grove High School in Alabama under head coach Darrell LeBeaux. He was a Top 30 prospect in the state rankings, as well as the No. 24 athlete and No. 30 linebacker in his class.
During his senior campaign, Groce helped his team finish with a 13-3 record en route to the Alabama HSAA Class 5A state runner up spot. He totaled 134 tackles 34.5 tackles for loss and 14.5 sacks. He also had 9 pass breakups, 21 quarterback hurries, 4 forced fumbles one interception and one fumble recovery.
Starkville to Tempe
As a Bulldog, Groce saw action in one game in the 2020 season and played four games in 2021. He later made his way out to Tempe, but only made a brief stop for the spring practice action.
Back to the Sip
In 2022, Groce headed back to East Mississippi where he started to make some noise — earning 2022 All MACCC North Division Honorable Mention. He was the team’s third-leading tackler with 71 stops this past season. He recorded 6.5 tackles for loss, along with two interceptions and two fumble recoveries. He posted consecutive double-digit tackles and notched his season-high with 12 stops against NECC. Another notable moment was his 22-yard pick-six in EMCC’s 36-28 road win over NWCC in the MACCC Championship game.
Fast Times In San Antonio
This past season, Groce returned to the DI ranks, heading to the Alamo City where he finished with 12 total tackles, 6 solos, 6 assists and one pass deflection.
Welcome to the Sip
The Rebels are fortunate to be able to add an experienced linebacker such as Groce. He will reunite with Ole Miss analyst Zach Arnett who was on the Mississippi State staff in 2020 during Groce’s time in Starkville. He will arrive with two years eligibility remaining.
Welcome to Ole Miss, Rodney!
Lee Ann Herring-Olvedo
Lee Ann serves as the Director of Recruiting for The Rebel Walk. She 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.
