Ole Miss Defense Picks Up Where It Left Off, Smothers Georgia State in Season Opener
OXFORD, Miss. — The Ole Miss defense performed well in the Rebels’ first game of the 2025 season Saturday night, a 63-7 win over Georgia State at Vaught-Hemingway.
Limiting the Panthers offense to 260 total yards and only 69 passing yards, Pete Golding’s squad looked like a complete team for much of the game. They’ll be tested more with the first SEC matchup on the horizon this coming weekend with a trip to face the Kentucky Wildcats.
Following the Rebels’ historically talented defense of 2024 that saw JJ Pegues, Princely Umanmielen, Walter Nolen and Jared Ivey all make NFL rosters, there is much anticipation surrounding the unit for 2025. The standards have not dropped for Golding and company.
The front seven delivered on just about every opportunity Saturday, and head coach Lane Kiffin commented after the game on their performance.
“I thought they created a lot of problems up front. The quarterback didn’t have a lot of time to throw over there. And so, I thought it was really good and did a really good job. Two of 15 on third downs has a lot to do with the D line rush.”
Lane Kiffin on the defensive line
Zxavian Harris notched two quarterback hurries, a tackle for loss, and one sack. The 6-foot-8, 330-pound lineman recorded his first career interception in the third quarter, picking off Georgia State quarterback Christian Veilux with 11:49 left in the period.
The big man celebrated with his teammates by dancing in the endzone, and dunking a basketball on the sidelines — abruptly breaking the goal and falling to the ground.
By far my favorite moment from last night
Zxavian Harris just DEMOLISHES the basketball goal 😂😂
pic.twitter.com/bkkdMKaK5J— Sidelines – Ole Miss (@SSN_OleMiss) August 31, 2025
“I give him a 50, 50 points, 10 out of 10 (on the dunk). He broke the rim; that was crazy, I’ve never seen that happen before.”
Linebacker TJ Dottery on Harris’ Dunk
Speaking of Dottery, the ‘green dot guy,’ who wears the headset that keeps him in onfield communication with Coach Golding, led the team in tackles with nine, five of which were solo. Fellow linebacker Jaden Yates was right behind him with eight total tackles, two solo.
Dottery praised Yates’ efforts against Georgia State.
“He’s a baller, and in the playbook as well, he’s very intellectual and smart…So when I get out there with him, I’m very comfortable because he’s able to make the chases, so him just being another voice out there and controlling the defense was huge.”
TJ Dottery on the performance of Jaden Yates
Da’Shawn Womack also played well against Georgia State, recording five solo tackles and finishing with a tackle for loss as well. The 6-foot-5 transfer from LSU brings a lot of energy and passion to the front seven, along with a willingness to put his body on the line on every play.
The secondary also enjoyed a solid night as Ricky Fletcher and Antonio Kite proved to be the one-two punch for the cornerback position, playing off each other’s energy very well.
Perhaps the biggest surprise with the secondary was TJ Banks starting the game. Missing much of fall camp battling an injury, Banks progressed quite well, beginning reps with the team during the third week of fall camp.
The Rebel defense kept Georgia State’s star wide receiver, Ted Hurst, quiet for the entirety of the game. He caught one pass for 6 yards, and that was it.
“The No. 1 goal we had was to take away their receiver who was their best player (Hurst). He only had one catch and it was behind the line of scrimmage….I thought d-line played really well, taking over for a great d-line the year before.”
Lane Kiffin
The Ole Miss defense will now shift focus to the Zach Calzada-led Kentucky Wildcats as the Rebels travel to Lexington for next Saturday’s game. Calzada, the transfer quarterback from Texas A&M, went 10-for-23 for 85 yards, one interception, and no touchdowns against Toledo in a 24-16 Kentucky win.
Daylan Flowers
Daylan is originally from Little Rock, Arkansas and currently a junior Journalism major at Ole Miss with an emphasis in sports media and a minor in history. In addition to his work for The Rebel Walk, Daylan is the creator of 'The Daylan Show,' a podcast that shares stories from people all over the sports and media world. He is an avid Arsenal, Cowboys, and St.Louis Cardinals fan. Daylan has a strong passion for photography, including many sporting events and photoshoots.
