A Visit with Transfer Wide Receiver Chase Sowell on His Offer from Ole Miss
OXFORD, Miss. — We are a little more than two-days deep into the fall portal window, and already over 1200 FBS athletes are testing the waters in search of their next team. Lane Kiffin and Ole Miss have been hard at work on their next top portal class as they look to find key components to fill their rosters. One such key piece could be East Carolina transfer wide receiver Chase Sowell.
Forever grateful for pirate nation💜💛 pic.twitter.com/Rz3tNC2AUI
— Chase Sowell (@SowellChase) December 2, 2024
It’s not difficult to sell athletes on the unique culture at Ole Miss and in Oxford, but perhaps one of the strongest attributes that entices top players is the ability to be developed and to increase their value as they look ahead to the NFL draft.
When 6-foot-4, 195-pound wide receiver Sowell entered the portal, his phone was soon ringing off the hook. The Rebels quickly moved to offer the talented, former 4-star athlete who currently sits as the No. 33 overall player in the portal and the No. 12 wide receiver.
Skill and experience mark Sowell as one of the swiftly-rising transfers on the market, and he will have two years of eligibility remaining. He has 15 career starts under his belt from his time at Colorado (3 games) and East Carolina (12).
@SowellChase making it look easy. They say he was down. Great grab though. pic.twitter.com/siuguQ0jNh
— Justin Aaron (@JustinAaronUH91) November 15, 2024
Sowell redshirted his freshman season at Colorado and then entered the transfer portal after a coaching change, transferring to East Carolina.
At ECU as a redshirt freshman, Sowell played 627 offensive snaps, notching 47 catches on 79 targets for a total of 622 yards. He had just six drops and posted a grade of 70.3, according to PFF. Sowell led all receivers on the team in receptions, yards and average yards per reception (13.2).
In 2024, Sowell played 437 snaps and was targeted 58 times en route to 24 catches for 674 yards and three TDs. He recorded 422 yards after the catch.
Humble Beginnings
A program you may have heard us mention this season, Atascocita High School in Humble, Texas, is where Sowell grew his high school roots. During his time there, he played on varsity for two seasons for the Eagles under then-head coach Anson Carter. His senior campaign was one for the books as he helped the Eagles finish 11-3 overall and 5-1 in district action. He finished his senior season with 70 catches for 1,380 yards and 16 TDs.
Sowell has a high ceiling for productivity and now looks to find a football home where he can develop his game.
5⃣ got the party started early in Dowdy 🏴☠️@SowellChase | @Youngs_PT pic.twitter.com/Bxguv0BShQ
— East Carolina Pirates (@ECUAthletics) November 12, 2024
A Visit with Chase Sowell on his offer from Ole Miss
RW: What does it mean to get an offer from Ole Miss?
Sowell: It means a lot to get the offer and opportunity for me and my family. Growing up, you dream about these schools calling and having interest, so it means a whole lot.
RW: What are you most looking for at your next program?
Sowell: My main focus is to find someone who will elevate and develop my game and to be able to showcase all the factors of my game.
RW: What do you believe is your x-factor skill that you could bring to a program like Ole Miss?
Sowell: I believe I bring a different style of play at my size. I am a bigger body — but also fast — which I take pride in.
RW: What do you believe is your most-overlooked skill?
Sowell: I think my IQ of the game is overlooked. I take so much pride in my preparation going into games and knowing what everyone on the field is doing.
RW: Any plan to visit Oxford yet?
Sowell: I have had conversations about coming on a visit but have not set a date exactly when I will be there.
As of this writing, Sowell was visiting Houston and was set to see Iowa State on Wednesday. Florida will also be in pursuit with ties to the Sowell family, and he has set an official visit there for December 21st. We will keep you updated!
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.
