Charlotte Transfer OL PJ Wilkins Set to Visit Ole Miss Following Offer: ‘The main things I’m looking for are a great culture and a family-oriented team’
OXFORD, Miss. — If you thought last week’s National Signing Day period was exciting, it was just warming everyone up for the transfer portal madness that officially kicked off at the stroke of midnight last night.
Lane Kiffin and Ole Miss are are wasting no time capitalizing on the portal, lining up plenty of top-tier portal talent to visit the ‘Sip. One of those is UNC Charlotte offensive lineman PJ Wilkins, who the Rebels have offered. We had a chance to visit with Wilkins Monday on his offer from Ole Miss.
Ole Mis Offered! @CoachGarrisonOL pic.twitter.com/5jKmgRVujs
— Paris Wilkins (@PjWilkins4) December 9, 2024
Recruiting needs change from season to season, and Lane Kiffin and his staff have mastered the art of efficiently filling immediate needs. One key area of need is the offensive line.
Ole Miss offensive line coach John Garrison wasted no time in looking for his future ‘trench kings,’ offering Wilkins at the opening of the portal period.
The 6-foot-7, 330-pound Georgia native is set to head to Oxford this week for a visit.The former St. Frances Academy force will have three years of eligibility remaining. He played in 11 games during this 2024 season for Charlotte after he redshirted in 2023.
Snatch!!! @PjWilkins4 !!!! https://t.co/MZ6e95m7K5
— Derek Williams II (@DEREKWILLIAMSII) August 28, 2022
Since putting his name in the portal, Wilkins also has interest from Cincinnati, Memphis, Illinois, to name a few as of early today. You can bet there will be more by the time we publish.
While Wilkins may not be a name you know, you soon will. He has an athletic pedigree as he is the nephew of former Atlanta Hawks legend Dominique Wilkins and Gerald Wilkins of the Orlando Magic.
From watching footage on Wilkins, his size absolutely jumps off the screen. His power and body control make him an excellent run blocker. He has great length, and he has good footwork that helps make him a strong pass blocker, as well.
We caught up with PJ, fresh off his offer from Ole Miss, to talk about life in the portal, Ole Miss recruitment and more.
A Visit with Charlotte Transfer OL PJ Wilkins
RW: It has been quite the 24 hours for you since hitting the portal. Can you share what it means to you to already be receiving so much interest?
Wilkins: It’s been a crazy process, and I am truly grateful to all of the coaches who have taken their time to reach out and give me an opportunity. But none of my success would be possible without the man above.
RW: What are you most looking for in your next home?
Wilkins: The main things I’m looking for are a great culture and a family-oriented team and just a place to get better-developed.
RW: Ole Miss has wasted no time in seeking your talent. What about a program like Ole Miss stands out the most as a place you could play?
Wilkins: I’ve had a really good conversation with Coach Garrison, and I like him as a person and coach. He’s coached a lot of guys that I look up to in the NFL today, and I thought that was pretty cool.
RW: What are you most looking forward to on your visit this week to Oxford?
Wilkins: I’m looking forward to making new relationships and enjoying the environment.
RW: What do you believe you can bring to a program like Ole Miss in addition to your skills?
Wilkins: I believe that I can bring leadership to the team.
The portal action is definitely heating up and we will bring you all the info as it happens, including more with this rising transfer in PJ Wilkins. Stay up to date with our TRANSFER PORTAL TRACKER that tracks players as the enter and leave the portal.
You can also keep with our Transfer Portal Players to Watch, a running list of talented star athletes who have entered the portal and would be worth keeping an eye on.
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.
