Ole Miss DC Pete Golding Talks Depth of Defense, Versatility Heading into 2025 Season

OXFORD, Miss. — As the Rebels are just sixteen days away from the start of the new 2025 football season, defensive coordinator Pete Golding is ensuring that every area of the defense will be ready to go come game time. From the defensive line to the linebackers, and to cornerbacks and safeties in the secondary, this defense has the chance to be one of the best.

Defensive line

The biggest change for the Ole Miss defense in 2025 will be the defensive front. Out of the eight Rebels who were taken in the NFL draft, five of them were on defense. Of those five, three — Walter Nolen, JJ Pegues, and Princely Umanmielen — were on the defensive line. And a fourth, Jared Ivey, is making waves in Seattle as an undrafted free agent.

Although the jersey numbers and names will be different this year, Golding is confident that this team will still produce the same pass rush and forceful line-up, even if the Rebels are without Nolen, Pegues, Umanmielen and Ivey.

“From a front standpoint, I don’t think we’re going to take a step back from last year.”

– Pete Golding on the Ole Miss front

— The Rebel Walk (@TheRebelWalk) August 14, 2025

“Obviously we lost some value coming off the edge, right?” Golding said.

Pete Golding on his transfer EDGE players

With four players from last season’s line now playing in the NFL, it seems obvious that the line lost a great deal of talent. But according to Golding and others’ testimonies from fall camp so far, the Rebels might have reloaded with even better ammo.

Alongside Umanmielen and Womack, Ole Miss also has Jamarious Brown, Zxavian Harris, Andrew Maddox, Will Echoles, and Kam Franklin. All of these players have been receiving praise from their teammates and coaches thus far.

“Kam Franklin has had the biggest improvement from day one to where he is now. He’s got more twitch than people think, and his length becomes a problem… he’s playing himself into an every-down player.”

– Pete Golding on the Mississippi native

— The Rebel Walk (@TheRebelWalk) August 14, 2025

And keep in mind, Ole Miss also returns junior Suntarine Perkins, a former 5-star player who has the versatility to play EDGE as well as linebacker. From what we’ve seen, Perkins might drop back into coverage in certain Golding packages, as well as rush the passer.

“There’s going to be some flexibility to moving him around in certain packages,” Golding said of Perkins. “We’ve got some 4-3 packages and things like that to move him around and put him in space. He’s going to have some film being a Will ‘backer. He’s apex. He stacks, he comes from multiple different spots.”

The bottom line with Perkins is he will be a key factor on the Landshark defense this season no matter where he is.

“He’s got an elite skillset to be able to do that. He’ll be in multiple spots,” Golding said.

As for the rest of of the line, the towering Brown has been a factor in camp, Maddox is standing out as a freshman with plenty of talent, and Echoles and Franklin were also mentioned by Golding as players he believes can make some of the biggest jumps this year.

“It’s really nice to have the guys that have already been in the scheme, the Kam Franklins of the world, the Will Echoles of the world,” Golding said. “All those guys that have been here, right? Know the expectation, know what to do.”

The more we hear through camp, the more the nerves of losing such a strong defensive front to the draft start to settle.

Linebackers

Linebacker TJ Dottery is clearly the leader of the position group, something that was expected, but something that has been reinforced by Golding, too.

Dottery leads the linebacker room by example with both his experience and mentorship. It is Dottery who will wear the green dot, signifying the player on the field who has the helmet communication with Golding. There is a lot of trust placed in that designation.

“We’re really excited about the linebacker group,” Golding said. “I think that room is led by TJ Dottery.”

Even though Dottery may be the captain of the defensive backfield, Golding points out there have been others deserving of praise as we approach the season.

Pete Golding on linebackers

Golding mentioned how a player having a high football IQ is very important and is a key trait they search for when recruiting. He explained all of the linebackers have the IQ that allows them to be as skilled and instinctive as they are. Yates and Chambers are both transfers, so having the IQ and ability to adapt will allow them to learn Golding’s system faster.

There is another transfer Golding mentioned Thursday, Andrew Jones. Jones is a graduate transfer from Memphis. The Rebels’ defensive coordinator discussed how Jones has been consistently working and showing his flashes through camp.

And let’s not forget 2025 Chucky Mullins Courage Award winner Tyler Banks. The senior from Blackstone, Virginia, has spent his entire career at Ole Miss, a rarity these days. Although he has not started for the Rebs, he has played in 39 games across his three seasons.

Secondary

The secondary is another area of the defense that has taken a hit, but it has also been replenished through the transfer portal after cornerback Trey Amos was taken in the second round of the NFL Draft. One of the players who was brought in to help reload and maintain a strong defense is Arkansas transfer Jaylon Braxton.

“So we’ve played [Braxton] at both spots since he’s been here,” Golding said. “So, we last started him at free safety in the spring to learn that position, because it’s a harder spot, because he’s never played it. Then in the summer, he worked at nothing but corner, so he’s got the versatility to play all five [defensive back spots].”

Although Braxton only appeared in 11 games for the Razorbacks due to injury, he will have the ability to play any position that the Rebels need him to, and he’ll do it effectively. Golding mentioned how some games, he may be at free safety, meanwhile, other times he may be playing cornerback. It’ll be interesting to see what role he plays best long-term for the Rebels.

Braxton wasn’t the only transfer in the secondary to receive praise from Golding; South Alabama transfer Ricky Fletcher and Auburn transfer Antonio Kite were also mentioned by the Rebels’ DC.

Pete Golding on Antonio Kite

With the talent and versatility the Rebels will have on the field for 2025, it will be hard to find an offense consistently capable of beating the secondary or even managing to run the ball effectively, because there’s also Fletcher.

Pete Golding on Ricky Fletcher

Golding also heaped praise on true freshman cornerback Dante Core. “Really excited about Dante Core, a true freshman. I think he’s got an elite skill set and just a different mentality.” The Fort Walton, Fla. native will be one to watch.

It was one thing to see the first few practices and hear from some teammates, but now, as camp nears the end and we hear from Coach Golding, it truly feels as though the defense has a chance to be the best it’s been in a while — and that’s saying something!

Hotty Toddy!

(Feature image credit of Chucky Mullins winner Tyler Banks: Karis Chambliss)