Pete Golding, Ole Miss add 17 high school prospects as Early Signing Period begins
OXFORD, Miss.–Socrates writes, “The secret to change is to focus all of your energy, not on fighting the old, but on building the new.” This philosophy is being embraced by new Ole Miss head coach Pete Golding and the Rebels as they begin the Golding era.
The 2026 Rebels recruiting class delivered a standout opening to the early signing period Wednesday. Golding and staff welcomed 17 signees to their roster, including a notable flip from LSU wide receiver commit Kervin Johnson out of Tioga High School in Louisiana.
Ole Miss finishes the day ranked No. 24 in the ESPN class rankings for 2026, and not far off in either the Rivals (No. 26) or 247Sports (No. 32) rankings as well. All told, Ole Miss currently has six four-star prospects in its 2026 signing class – including two unanimous ones in defensive end Landon Barnes (Baton Rouge, La.) and running back Damarius Yates (DeKalb, Miss.).
The Rebels, on Wednesday, added five players ranked within the ESPN300, four on the defensive side of the ball: Yates (No. 121), linebacker Ja’Michael Garrett (No. 174; Baton Rouge, La.), cornerback Dorian Barney (No. 175; Carrollton, Ga.), Barnes (No. 266) and safety Craig Tutt (No. 286; Christiana, Tenn.).
2026 OLE MISS FOOTBALL SIGNING CLASS
Landon Barnes | DE | 6-4 | 240 | FR-HS | Baton Rouge, La./Duncanville
Dorian Barney | CB | 6-0 | 170 | FR-HS | Carrollton, Ga./Carrollton
Jayden Curtis | DE | 6-3 | 260 | FR-HS | Perkinston, Miss./St. Martin
Ant Davis | LB | 6-1 | 205 | FR-HS | Stockbridge, Ga./Grayson
Emanuel Faulkner | OL | 6-6 | 290 | FR-HS | New Albany, Miss./New Albany
Ja’Michael Garrett | LB | 6-2 | 200 | FR-HS | Baton Rouge, La./Central
Kervin Johnson Jr. | WR | 6-2 | 200 | FR-HS | Tioga, La/Tioga
Ja’Michael Jones | RB | 5-11| 200 | FR-HS | Montgomery, Ala./Pike Road
Victor Lincoln Jr. | CB | 6-0 | 165 | FR-HS | Lancaster, Texas/Duncanville
Kane Mankins | OL | 6-4 | 245 | FR-HS | Attleboro, Mass./Bishop Feehan
Iverson McCoy | CB | 6-0 | 185 | FR-HS | Tupelo, Miss./Tupelo
Nascar McCoy | S | 6-1 | 185 | FR-HS | Atlanta, Ga./Buford
Carmelow Reed | DE | 6-6 | 260 | FR-HS | Chicago, Ill./Morgan Park
Craig Tutt | S | 5-10 | 180 | FR-HS | Christiana, Tenn./Oakland
Braylen Williams | S | 5-11 | 190 | FR-HS | Tupelo, Miss./Tupelo
Rees Wise | QB | 6-0 | 210 | FR-HS | Austin, Texas/Westlake
Damarius Yates | RB | 5-10 | 190 | FR-HS | DeKalb, Miss | Kemper County
If you missed any of the action from National Signing Day (NSD), here’s a glimpse at our new recruits.
Stay tuned for a detailed breakdown of our incoming class, but I have a feeling we’re not finished yet—Early Signing Period runs through Friday, and there are two key flips to keep an eye on.
Deuce Geralds 4-Star DL, Collins Hill (GA)
Geralds has been on the Rebels’ radar for quite some time, and they have continued to pursue the Ole Miss legacy vigorously despite his current commitment to the Bayou Bengals. Ranked as the No. 54 overall prospect in 2026 and the No. 6 defensive lineman nationally—and No. 7 out of Georgia—he was initially set to sign on Wednesday but opted to delay until Friday due to recent staff changes in Baton Rouge. If Ole Miss can secure his commitment under these circumstances, it would be a significant coup.
Jase Matthews – 4-Star WR, Greene County (MS)
Matthews appeared destined for The Plains ; however, he has decided to postpone his signing day until Friday. This twist adds intrigue as it sets up a potential showdown between Golding’s Ole Miss Rebels and Lane Kiffin’s Bayou Bengals for one of the nation’s top talents. Both teams are making compelling cases for Matthews, each with strong selling points.
While Golding and his team have solidified much of their anticipated recruiting class already, there are still potential flips brewing in this short timeframe. Stay tuned!
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.
