OXFORD, Miss. — I’m going to really age myself, here, but one of my favorite songs from the old days of my youth was Pat Benatar’s “Hit Me with Your Best Shot,” a defiant declaration of strength in relationships and life. All during this transfer portal craziness, lyrics from the song kept running through my mind.
You’re a real tough cookie with a long history
Of breaking little hearts like the one in me.
That’s okay, let’s see how you do it
Put up your dukes, let’s get down to it.
The final days of the transfer portal tested Ole Miss in real time, but head coach Pete Golding and the Rebels not only kept their playoff-caliber foundation intact, they ‘got down to it,’ so to speak, taking solid punches from teams across the country and elevating the program with the nation’s No. 2 transfer portal class.
As the dust settles on another frenetic portal cycle, the Rebels are positioned to build on momentum rather than recover from damage.
The portal officially closed last Friday, but schools were given until Tuesday night to complete the administrative process required for players to formally enter and pursue new destinations. That extra window created plenty of late noise across the SEC — particularly with LSU making a strong push on Ole Miss’ roster.
Hit me with your best shot.
Why don’t you hit me
With your best shot?
Hit me with your best shot.
Fire Away.
Yes, Ole Miss felt the pull from Baton Rouge and a former coach who, despite indicating he didn’t feel he could win a national title at Ole Miss, tried as hard as he could to convince those same players he left to follow him.
The Tigers ultimately landed four Ole Miss athletes, including defensive end Princewill Umanmielen and linebacker TJ Dottery, both starters from Ole Miss’ College Football Playoff run. LSU also added freshman offensive tackle Devin Harper and wide receiver Winston Watkins. While those departures were real, they never amounted to an unraveling. Four players. That’s it. No mass exodus. No knock-out blows.
Ole Miss focused on what matters most and what matters most isn’t who left — it is who stayed and who will be coming.
Throughout the cycle, rival programs made aggressive pushes for the core of Ole Miss’ roster. Names like Kewan Lacy, Trinidad Chambliss, and multiple defensive starters were the subject of nonstop rumors. Offers were floated. Numbers were discussed. Pressure was real.
And yet, Coach Golding and his staff held their ground.
You come on with it, come on, you don’t fight fair.
That’s okay, see if I care.
Knock me down, it’s all in vain,
I get right back on my feet again.
Lacy, the engine of the Ole Miss offense, shut the door on outside interest and recommitted early, giving the Rebels stability at running back. Chambliss followed with one of the strongest signals possible — agreeing to one of the most significant NIL arrangements in the country while continuing to fight for another year of eligibility. Ole Miss has not wavered in its belief that Chambliss will be QB1 when the Rebels kick off against Louisville to start the 2026 season.
That belief resonated inside the locker room.
While LSU landed four players, Ole Miss retained the nucleus of a team that went 13–2 and reached the College Football Playoff semifinals. Defensive tackle Will Echoles stayed put despite late seven-figure overtures from the Rebels’ former head coach. In an era where rosters can evaporate overnight, Ole Miss showed restraint, organization, and — most importantly — trust between players and staff.
The results speak loudly. The Rebels closed the window with one of the strongest incoming transfer classes in the nation, currently ranked No. 2 in the country, and their highest overall recruiting ranking of the portal era when high school and transfer classes are combined.
Rather than scrambling to replace losses, Ole Miss added pieces intentionally, reinforcing depth and competition across the roster. That balance — absorbing departures without unraveling — is the real victory of this cycle. Roster churn is inevitable in today’s college football landscape, especially following a coaching change. Around the country, mass exits followed familiar patterns. Ole Miss avoided that fate.
In a portal cycle that promised instability, Ole Miss delivered both continuity and momentum. With a playoff foundation still intact, a quarterback situation being aggressively protected, and cornerstone players choosing to stay, the Rebels didn’t just survive the portal; they, yet again, mastered it and did so with a new portal king at the helm. Yes, other teams took their best shot, but Golding and his team punched back — not with panic, but with purpose.
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Evelyn Van Pelt
Evelyn has covered sports for over two decades, beginning her journalism career as a sports writer for a newspaper in Austin, Texas. She attended Texas A&M and majored in English. Evelyn's love for Ole Miss began when her daughter Katie attended the university on a volleyball scholarship. Evelyn created the Rebel Walk in 2013 and has served as publisher and managing editor since its inception. Email Evie at: Evie@TheRebelWalk.com
