‘Defensive Genius’: Keaton Thomas Bought In on Golding, Ole Miss Culture
OXFORD, Miss. — Spring practice continues to roll on for the Ole Miss Rebels, and with that, Rebel transfer linebacker Keaton Thomas spoke to the media for the first time since arriving in Oxford, Mississippi. He discussed head coach Pete Golding, the defense, and more.
Decision to Transfer and talks with Golding
Thomas is a senior linebacker who transferred from the Baylor Bears after spending the last two seasons there. In his junior season, he notched 103 tackles, including seven tackles for loss, one sack, one interception, and one fumble returned for a touchdown.
On Wednesday afternoon, he explained what went into his decision to transfer to Ole Miss.
“So after the season ended, I ended up praying, talking about it with my family, and then once the portal officially opened, and I started talking to schools, and Coach Golding hit me up, I talked with (inside linebackers) Coach (Jay) Shoop, (defensive coordinator) Coach Bryan Brown, and we started forming that relationship. And it was just apparent to me that this needed to be my first visit, and it was my only visit. So I came here, talked ball all day, for about seven hours, and I just fell in love.“
– Thomas on why he transferred to Ole Miss
Thomas had North Mississippi ties, as he attended Northeast Mississippi Community College in Booneville, Mississippi, during his freshman year, where he tallied 107 total tackles, nine for loss, and two interceptions in nine games. He brought this up, mentioning for the first time that he had originally spoken to head coach Pete Golding.
“I talked to him a little bit in JUCO cause I went to Northeast, yeah, so about an hour and 30 east of here, and we just talked maybe once or twice, but on my first time having an extended conversation with him, he’s raw, authentic. He is who he is, and it’s awesome. It was great. He’s funny. He was hilarious. My mom loved him. Dad loved him, so it was a good experience.“
Thomas on Pete Golding
Thomas described what it’s like to talk to coach Golding about football.
“It’s like talking to a defensive genius, and this is a guy who’s been in it for a long time and has won championships with this style of defense, and so anything he says, I’m gonna do, whether I can’t figure it out right now, then I’m gonna work harder at it, stay longer and watching it, learning it, and then coming next and executing. So it’s awesome. ”
– Thomas on head coach Pete Golding’s ball knowledge
Ole Miss’ Defensive Style
Thomas also compared the defensive styles of his old school to that of the Rebels’ style of play.
“Similar style to what I was doing last year at my previous school, just a lot of similar concepts and terminology. And so it’s just playing fast within the defense, making sure that I can communicate to everybody, get everybody lined up, and execute at a high level. That’s the biggest thing. And it’s gonna be able to let me show my blitz ability, coverage ability, and then stacking up being in the box and dominating running backs and stuff like that.
Thomas on his defense
Thomas also talked about operating for a defensive-minded head coach. “It’s just a different type of tenacity that the whole building kind of holds within the defensive side of the ball,” he explained.
“I mean, at practice, we attack. He loves to attack. He loves guys who work hard, and so I wanted to be a part of a culture that has that same ideology, just coming in and working and earning everything that you get.“
Thomas on the Ole Miss culture
When discussing the defense, Thomas praised the defensive line.
“This is the biggest and fastest, the best D line I’ve played in front of. We got guys who are over 350 pounds moving so smoothly, and, well, that it’s unfathomable, and I’m just excited to play behind guys like that. It’ll be my first time. So excited. They clear holes up for me and make it easy to play fast.“
Thomas on the defensive line
One of the biggest additions in the transfer portal came when the Rebels landed transfer linebacker Luke Ferrelli. Thomas gave insight into his relationship with the Clemson transfer and what kind of player he is.
“Yeah, that’s my dog, yeah,” Thomas began. “Like, as soon as he came, I hit him up. We talked. As soon as he got here, we chopped it up. I mean, we literally live right across the street from each other, so we hang out all the time. On the weekends, we talk and play the game together. We’ll play cards, and so good, dude, excited to play with him,” Thomas added.
He expounded on what Ferelli brings to the team. “Fun, energetic, fast, physical, everything that you want in a linebacker. Smart, so it’s fun to play right next to him,” Thomas said.
Team Bonding
Team bonding is one of the best ways to develop a close relationship between players off the field. Of course, the bond has to be built from scratch when a guy transfers into a new program. Thomas shared details on ways the team has bolstered their team chemistry.
“Yeah, the biggest thing was, when we got here, was just chopping it up, having fun. Maybe that was just playing cards or taking a car ride to Chipotle and eating food. But that’s, that’s the biggest part about it is like a lot of people are new coming here. You know, you have some guys who are here. We have to join their culture, right? They’re not joining ours, and so we have to learn how to walk with them, and then how to talk with them, and how they do things….”
– Thomas on connecting with teammates outside of football
Parks Burcham
Parks Burcham is a sophomore at the University of Mississippi. He is majoring in Journalism, emphasis in Sports Media, with a minor in Sports Management. He is originally from Booneville, Mississippi and graduated high school from Jumpertown Attendance Center.His favorite sports are basketball and football. He chose this path because he has always been extremely interested in the sports world. Parks enjoys all aspects of the game and hopes to do great work in this field.
