Ole Miss Football’s Walter Nolen, Tre Harris and Chris Paul Jr. Named AP All-Americans

OXFORD, Miss.– (Release) Ole Miss football junior defensive tackle Walter Nolen (first team), senior wide receiver Tre Harris (second team) and junior linebacker Chris Paul Jr. (third team) each earned spots on the Associated Press All-America teams, as announced by the AP on Monday morning.

Walter Nolen

This is the sixth All-America honor for Nolen, who has also landed on All-America squads by The Athletic (first team), Walter Camp (second team), AFCA (second team), CBS Sports/247Sports (second team) and the College Football Network (honorable mention).

Nolen ranks among the best interior linemen in the nation, as evidenced by his appearance as a finalist for the Outland Trophy. This season, Nolen is tied for the team lead in tackles for loss at 14.0, ranks third on the team with 6.5 sacks and fifth on the team at 48 total tackles – alongside three pass breakups, three QB hurries and two fumble recoveries. In SEC play, Nolen leads all conference defenders at 12.0 TFL and ranks tied for fifth at 6.0 sacks. In the PFF metrics, Nolen ranks as the No. 5 run stopper in all of college football at a 91.7 season grade – which ranks second among interior defensive linemen and leads all SEC linemen.

Tre Harris

Harris was on pace for a historic season before injuries sidelined him, but he still ranks second in the SEC at 1,030 yards on 60 receptions with seven touchdowns. Harris still ranks as PFF’s top-rated SEC receiver and No. 3 receiver in the FBS in both season offensive grade (89.9) and receiving grade (89.8). This marks Harris’ first career 1,000-yard season, and with it became the sixth Rebel to ever break the 1,000-yard barrier in a single season and the second fastest to do it behind Elijah Moore’s 2020 season. Harris also broke 2,000 yards receiving for his Ole Miss career, currently ranking 10th all-time among Rebel pass catchers at 2,015 yards.

Chris ‘Pooh’ Paul Jr.

Paul Jr. – a finalist for the Butkus Award – has consistently rated as one of the top linebackers in the FBS this season. Paul Jr. leads all Rebel tacklers with 88 total stops on the year (50 solo), while also ranking fourth on the team with 11.0 TFL. Elsewhere, Paul Jr. holds 3.5 sacks, nine QB hurries, four pass breakups, one interception and one fumble recovery. He ranks eighth in the conference at his 7.3 tackles per game, and per PFF he ranks as the top linebacker in the SEC and No. 4 linebacker in the FBS at a season grade of 90.1.