‘Godfather of the Building’: Will Echoles Embraces Leadership Role
OXFORD, Miss. — Ole Miss football began their spring practices last week after coming off the most historic year in program history, where they made the playoffs and advanced all the way to the college football playoff semifinals in January.
While some familiar faces entered the portal, elected to declare for the NFL draft, or exhausted eligibility, and new faces have joined the team from the portal and high school ranks, some faces stayed the same.
One of those is returning starting defensive tackle Will Echoles.
During Friday’s press conference, Ole Miss co-defensive coordinator Bryan Brown was asked about the returners and if he has challenged any particular players to pursue a leadership role. He immediately named a pair of rising juniors: Echoles, as well as fellow defensive lineman Kam Franklin.
“Absolutely. I mean, you think about Big Will (Echoles) up front. Big Will (Echoles) has been here. He’s like the godfather of the building; him and Kam Franklin. We challenged those guys to be more of a leader, vocal leaders. They do everything right on the football field. I mean, they try their best. They go hard each and every day at practice. But now, we just need them to step up and be a little bit more vocal, so we challenged those guys.“
Ole Miss defensive coordinator Bryan Brown on Echoles and Franklin
Echoles, a Houston, Mississippi native spoke later about his new role.
“Leading the young guys coming in. We got a bunch of transfers who came in and are still young too. So, I say just showing them the ropes of how we do things around here and what the standard is.” Echoles explained.
When specifically asked about being more vocal, Echoles shared a common theme for the day of breaking out of his quiet shell, discussing how he has to challenge himself.
“I say it’s something I have to challenge myself to do, cause you know me, I’m kind of quiet, honestly. I say, but you know I try to lead by example, like B(ryan) Brown said, just by doing the right things, but I say the vocal part of leading has been coming out lately. If we practicing sloppy or doing something sloppy, just speaking up and telling the guys like ‘this ain’t how we do things around here,’ you know, just stuff like that.“
Will Echoles
The powerful 6-foot-3, 315-pounder has done everything right on the field so far. As a freshman, he took limited in-game reps behind future NFL draft picks Walter Nolen ( a first-round pick), JJ Pegues (a sixth-round pick), and Zxavian Harris, a projected draft pick in the upcoming draft.
Despite that, Echoles made a few appearances his first season and totaled 9 tackles, 2 for a loss, and 0.5 sacks. However, he really broke out in his sophomore campaign, becoming a full-time starter on the semifinalist squad this past season, totaling 68 tackles, 11.5 for a loss, 5 pass deflections, and 5 sacks.
There are still over 150 days until Ole Miss opens its season, but important growth lives in those days, including Echoles’ as a vocal leader for this 2026 squad.
Billy Kuhl
Billy Kuhl joins The Rebel Walk as a sophomore at Ole Miss majoring in Journalism with a Sports Media concentration. He is from Jefferson Township, New Jersey and graduated from Jefferson Township High School where he played varsity baseball, and soccer, and swam competitively in his summers. You can contact him at wpkuhl88@gmail.com or DM him on X @Billykuhll or instagram @Billykuhll_
