TRANSCRIPT: Everything Pete Golding Said on Competition, Culture, and Building the 2026 Rebels

OXFORD, Miss. — With spring practice entering its final stretch, Ole Miss head coach Pete Golding met with the media Monday to assess where his team stands after weeks of evaluation, installation, and competition. Fresh off a packed weekend in Oxford that showcased both the program’s connection with its fan base and success across Ole Miss athletics, Golding balanced praise for his team’s progress with a clear message: there’s still plenty of work to be done as the Rebels push toward the finish line of spring.

Pete Golding’s Opening Statement

Obviously a great weekend. We had Meet the Rebs. I thought it was an unbelievable turnout for our fans. I thought our kids did an unbelievable job. Stayed late, signed a bunch of autographs for a lot of kids. So really neat experience, not only for the fans, but more importantly for our players. I think they lose the value in that sometimes. So I think it was kind of eye opening to see that many people on a Saturday morning with Double Decker going on and an unbelievable home baseball series with Georgia, and then to close it on Sunday with Malloy and the boys finishing the way they did. Hats off to the golf team the year that they’ve been through, and I think everybody kind of counted them out when Michael (LaSasso) decided to go to LIV and for them to finish the way they did was unbelievable. So, we’re in our last week of spring. You know, I think it’s been going good. We’re nowhere near where we need to be. You know, obviously a lot of guys, 50 new guys getting adapted to the schemes on both sides of the ball, really incorporated special teams over the last ten days as well to make sure we’re evaluating the guys who could be core guys for us from a special teams standpoint. And now, you know, we mocked the game week last week, which I thought was really good from a routine standpoint for our players. And coming off of that, you know, we need to play more football. And so that’s kind of what this week is about. Put them in situations and a little more, move the ball periods and actually play football and get awareness and really put some guys in some tough spots and see what they’re about. So we’re going to put them to the fire this week. We’ll finish on Thursday and then obviously finals will start next week and then they’ll get a little break. But it’s been a good spring so far. For the most part, we’ve stayed healthy. Nothing season-ending by any means. And our guys are competing. So it’s good to see.

Question: Pete, are you able to give us any update on on Carius Curne?

Pete Golding: Yeah, obviously it’s a legal matter. We’re still gathering information. So really can’t speak on that right now. But we’ll let the legal process run its course and see what happens.

Question: As far as that tackle position, Pete, not just with him, but what have you seen from them all spring? Tommy Kinsler uh, what’s the health of those guys? Terez, he looks like he’s healthy. Finally, those that tackle spot on offense, what have you seen as far as growth and development. And do you like where it is or does it need to work. I mean what are you looking at with it.

Pete Golding: Yeah. I mean obviously I think it continues to need work for sure. But I think Garrison’s done a good job. We’ve looked at a lot of different spots. You know, I think spring’s not one where, hey, we’re actually playing the game. And who would you move if this was the scenario based on injuries and everything else right now? But I think the new guys like Tommy and all those guys are doing a good job. Like I kind of said last week, they flashed right where they can play winning football in the SEC. It’s just doing it on a more consistent basis. And then I think Terez has had a really solid spring, you know, and that’s why we brought him back. And he’s got to continue to develop and from a leadership standpoint bring those guys with him. And you know obviously Emmanuel is still young right. But you’re seeing flashes from him. He’s got a lot of ability. So it’s been musical chairs as far as rotating them, trying to make sure all of them are, you know, are going against good talent. And I think that’s the big thing. Sometimes you get stuck in rotations and they’re not playing against the same guys. So you know Garrison and them have done a really good job of rotating those guys in. And whether it be the ones or the twos, so definitely flashed. But yeah, obviously it’s a concern, like a lot of spots for us that we got to get consistently better and doing our job on a more consistent basis.

Question: A two parter on the draft, if you don’t mind. Just how cool was it to see De’Zhaun Stribling going off 33 overall? And then, you know, maybe one of the things that had a lot of mock drafters surprised was Zxavian (Harris) going undrafted. Just what what did you make of that? And how could you see him contributing at the level?

Pete Golding: Yeah. I mean, I think to start with Strib, I mean, what an unbelievable human being, you know, and I think all his hard work that he put in and how he carried himself and what an unbelievable leader he was. Obviously, I think his value increased. You know, the tape is one thing and he’s a really good receiver. But when you start coming in and researching the type of kid he is and the football intelligence and the want to and everything else, you know, I told a lot of guys, I don’t think there’s any way you can miss on this kid. I mean, he’s four core from day one. He’s a lot stronger than you think on the lower half. Really strong hands. He’s got elite speed that sometimes I feel like people didn’t notice. And he ran really well but really happy for him. He created a lot of value for himself based on how he prepared, how he played, but more importantly, how he carried himself. And I think that’s a really good example for those guys in that locker room. That does matter, you know, and at that level, they’re looking for reasons not to take you. And there wasn’t many reasons with Strib where you could sit there and say, ‘I don’t want him in my building,’ Regardless whether he catches the ball or not, my organization should be better because he’s in it.

I think, on Zay, I don’t think it’s how you start, I think it’s how you finish. I think a lot of that could be looking at the body type and all those type of things and the projection and all those. But you know, Zay loves football. He’s a he’s tough. He’s competitive. He’s got a really good skill set. So he’s going to find the right spot. I think that’s the benefit of free agency. You know, what scheme is it and what’s the right fit. And there’s some versatility up front because I think he’s a very versatile player. And then continue to develop his body, continue to get in better shape and all those things. But I think Big Zay has a very bright future. Hopefully he’ll get in a room with a vet and see it done the right way on a day to day basis. And I think he’s got an extremely bright future.

Question: A lot of new names all over the ball like you mentioned. What have you seen in particularly from the secondary?

Pete Golding: Yeah. I mean I think we got some guys playing well right now. We got Dorian back you know from the hand deal. He had a big pick six in the two minute on Friday. You know I think Sharif is playing at a high level right now. I think Joenel’s getting better every practice, really shows up running the alley and tracking the hip. Really physical. Those busts are starting to come a lot less now. I think he’s getting a better understanding, you know, of the defense. I think Kite has continued to play well and started stacking some days. I’ve been on him, you know, a pretty good bit lately of the consistency of his performance and showing the right example for these young guys and all those things. So I think we got guys flashing. Squirrel still really athletic. He’s got extremely high ceiling, but Squirrel’s got to show up day in and day out. And I’ve been on him about the consistency piece of it. You can’t pick and choose. And it’s time to grow up and mature because he’s got all the ability in the world and we’ve seen the flashes from him this spring, but we just want him to do it on a more consistent basis. But like I told y’all before, I think we got plenty of size speed in that room. I think we’ve got talent in that room. We got to continue to coach and develop and hold them accountable, and I think it’ll be okay.

Question: A few guys that we haven’t talked too much about, probably because they’ve been limited with injury. Edwin Joseph in the back end, uh, Tony Mitchell with linebackers. I mean, uh, Renaud, with those guys, what are the status of them? Like, how are they? And what specifically about Edwin Joseph? What did you like about him in the portal and what could he be once he’s healthy?

Pete Golding: Yeah. I mean, obviously the experience, um, I think, uh, he’s very instinctive. Uh, I think he does a really good job in block protection of getting skinny. He does a good job of finishing on the ball carrier. And I always felt like that position, I mean, he was a corner, you know playing nickel. I think the ability to play man to man. The kid’s got range. He’s got top end speed. So love his versatility, his athletic ability. And then when you throw on top of the experience component of it, I thought he really had a really high ceiling that fit our system really well. So obviously with Edwin and Jordan, we knew coming in by taking them, they weren’t going to be here for the spring which I think if the motto was the old model and you didn’t get them in the summer, that would be a concern. But we knew they were going to be in every meeting. They’re going to be rehabbing all spring. There would be a good foundation from an understanding standpoint going into June and July, and now it’s getting them back into playing shape, you know, over June and July and getting ready for August. I think, Tony, you know, obviously we recruited Tony at Alabama out of high school. Was very athletic. Tony kind of grew out of the safety position from a body type standpoint, about 240 lbs. Right now. Um, really athletic and linebacker comes a lot more natural to Tony than Tony thinks it does. And I think, you know some of those DB guys I’m a DB and you start putting them in the box like coach what the hell are we doing here? You know, so but he allows us from some coverage versatility standpoint to kind of use him as a money and rotate coverages away from and things like that because we like his coverage ability. But, I’ve been really pleased with his instincts in the box, which is always something that’s the concern of a guy that hasn’t played that position because he had put physicality on tape, you know, he could transition and could run, especially for that position now. So I think he’s continuing to get, you know, more comfortable has really shown up in the four core special teams in the last ten days, which will be a big piece. But he’s definitely going to continue to play himself into a role on defense and be really specific with it to take some of those snaps off of other guys. So excited about all three of those, but with Edwin and Jordan, it’ll be a really big summer transitioning them to the speed of the game. But the benefit is these aren’t high school players. They’ve played in games. They’ve been starters, right? They’ve played in the SEC. Obviously Edwin played in the ACC, he’s played SEC teams. You know so they know what it is. And so there’s a good foundation right now knowing what to do. And then now it’s the summer. Just getting them to do it you know on a consistent basis.

Question: Coach, I know we asked about Jehiem Oatis this earlier in the spring. How has he been over the last couple of weeks? And I know it was kind of a bit of a challenge put out to him about the importance of the upcoming season. How has he been over the last couple of weeks for?

Pete Golding: You know, I think Jehiem’s been good. I think, you know, we got his body where it should be. Paul and them in the weight room have done a really good job. Um you know he’s done a nice job inside using his hands. Obviously he’s a really gifted player. So he’s got short area quickness on top of heavy hands. I think obviously what we do from a defensive standpoint helps him play an attack react and play in the back half of blocks. So I think he’s, you know, kind of knocked the rust off a little bit. Hadn’t played a ton, obviously, since I was with him at Alabama. But but I like, you know, what he’s done so far as long as that continues to improve. We kind of talked about it from the very beginning. Uh, you know, Jehiem to me was making the decision of how good does Jehiem want to be on a daily basis. And, and I think there’s been some consistency in that throughout the spring that’s got to continue and improve. And Coach Joyner has done a good job with him.

Question: I know you’ve been here for a few years now as a defensive coordinator, but I think it’s also become so common in college football around programs. The the amount of turnaround that kind of some programs have to go through within the transfer portal and losing players to different teams or to the league. Now that you’ve been in this head coaching role for a couple of months now, how have you kind of had to focus your your mentality in terms of actually building those relationships and making sure both sides of the ball guys are building chemistry and they’re building relationships outside of just performing on the practice field that are also building, building team chemistry outside of the, the football field.

Golding: Yeah, to me, I’m a little different. I think that comes natural to some people and I think it’s forced by others, you know. And I think people see that. I think kids see that. I think a big part of bringing a team together is, you know, who do you put in that locker room? And when you put one group whose goals and aspirations are one thing, and this other group is just worried about this over here, then it’s hard to get those guys to come together. But, you know, I think the group that we had coming back, we wanted to make sure that we were putting players around them that were tough, competitive and love football and wanted to win. And I think for the most part, we did that. And it’s always good to have a good nucleus coming back. When you’re talking about, you know, essentially this is about to be the seventh year of the offensive system, the fourth year of the defensive system, and the third year of the special teams system. And so the expectation on certain sides of the ball has already kind of been set. And it’s really nice to be able to add new pieces that are really talented, but into a room that knows what to do, but also knows what to expect and help those guys. Um, but I think they see real and I think obviously, I think that starts from a coaching standpoint. I think your staff needs to be close knit. And that’s something, you know, that I think is by design. And I think that kind of, you know, funnels down a little bit to the players. But I think if you get a lot of guys with the same mentality and the same goal in one room, they’re going to come together. And I think this group has done a good job with that.

Question: Coach, give us some insight on replacing a lot of wide receivers and a lot of new faces out wide.

Golding: Yeah, I mean, I think if you look at the history of this place, at least in my opinion, I mean that’s been done every year, right? I mean, the guy that just went 33rd overall, I’m pretty confident wasn’t here the year before. So I mean I think that’s pretty common right everywhere now. So we talked about it before, obviously, you know, we had a lot of production that we knew had left. So number one, you want to bring in talent enough guys that can do that. I think you want to balance it right? And make sure you’re not bringing all the same type of guy. Right? So then now you can have different roles for them and different packages to create issues for defenses, which I think we’ve done. So, you know, the experience that we brought in, I think has gotten better. You know, day in and day out. And those guys came here to step into a role. They didn’t want to come to be a backup. You know, they weren’t promised in the recruiting process. They know they got to come in and earn it and, and develop all those. But, you know, we wouldn’t have invested the way we did if we didn’t feel like we were going to get a return on our investment. So a lot of those guys have had a good spring are going to have to have a good fall.

Question: Pete, you touched on Meet the Rebels earlier. How important was it for you to have the team interacting with the community and then seeing you kind of leading the charge there, you know, signing autographs and whatnot?

Pete Golding: No, I mean, I think they’ve got to realize, and I think some of them do not all of them do of, you know, over a three year span since I’ve been here, like we’ve lost one home game, right? That’s because there’s a lot of people in that stadium that have created an environment and an atmosphere that’s really hard to play in. And you got to give back to people that give to you, in my opinion. And so I think that’s kind of been lost at some places, you know, and I think at the end of the day, like, I mean, we’re all a kid deep down inside. Like they actually enjoy it, right? I mean, for Trinidad and for all those guys that have lines out of the door, right? And those kids smiles just for their autograph, like, you know. So I told them, I was like, man, there’s going to be one day and it’s going to be sooner than later. That ain’t nobody going to want your damn autograph, right? So you better enjoy it, right? You better continue to play really well. So that line is long. But no, I thought it was awesome for them to have the opportunity to give back, and especially in that atmosphere, in a controlled environment. And everybody was really excited. So I thought it was special for them and for our fans.

Question: Coach, from a personal standpoint, you’ve always come out of spring as the coordinator or as the position coach. First time to come out as head coach. One week to go. What is that like for you personally? Has it been different or what’s been the biggest surprise that, wow, I didn’t have to deal with that previously. I got to deal with that now.

Golding: Yeah, I mean, to be honest, I really don’t know. Uh, you know, like, you know, just getting off the practice and still trying to focus on the things that I can control and all those. Obviously it’s a little different spring where you’re used to wrapping this thing up and self scouting evals and go hit the road right and start recruiting and all that. So, you know, your calendar has changed a little bit when you can’t go on the road. And then obviously some of the fundraising events and, you know, some of the golf tournaments and some of those things, uh, that used to hide to do, you know, and now you get to do it publicly. Um, but no, other than that, I mean, I think the biggest thing is making sure we have really good plans in place. Um, obviously, I have to only worry about half the team as far as what happened on the weekend, you know, and now you’re worrying about a lot more guys. Um, but but other than that, I mean, I think coaching is coaching. I really do. I think it’s a mindset and you get in this to develop young men both on and off the field. And you try to be truthful to them and tell them the truth and hold them accountable. And I think, you know, the higher that you go, obviously in your career, the more people you’re responsible for. But I don’t think your intentions change. You know, I think, you know, whether you’re a receiver coach or head coach, you still lose sleep on a Friday night, right? Hoping your kids make good decisions and hope that they realize it affects a lot more people than just them. And it affects everybody in that room. So, um, but I think, you know, our staff, I think we got a really good staff. Obviously they’ve helped with a lot of that. Like I told you all last week, I thought mocking the game week really helped me and them to kind of get a feel of what a week is and all those type of things. So to me, it’s just getting adjusted to the calendar more than anything, to be honest with you and not going on the road, which I love to go on the road. So, I guess I’ll have to figure something else out.

Question: Coach, you’ve got a lot of very talented quarterbacks behind Trinidad. I’m just curious where you see those guys at this point in the spring.

Golding: Yeah. I mean I think spring is putting them in those situations. Right. And kind of removing your emotions once you get through it. And let’s really look at the stats, right? And the grades and the production. And because so many times, right, it could have been a receiver that didn’t catch it wasn’t the quarterback’s fault, right? It could have been an issue up front. Right. And then get a clean pocket. So to me, I’m really anxious to get to next week, to be honest with you as far as, okay, let’s really look at and go in depth of right now, if we were to have to play, you know, who are we going to run out there second, because a lot of them have flashed and done really good things, but I think that position more than any, especially when you have a talented team, is they don’t make more plays against you than they do for you. And some of those, when you got really good players, make sure we’re controlling the game and we’re taking care of the football. We’re making really good decisions so that we don’t lose the game. And I think more games are lost than they are won. And so I think you got to step back, you know, in order to really see that. If not, I think it can become really emotional. And I think sometimes we use our feelings based on how we think about a kid and his mindset and all those. But at the end of the day, does he give us our best chance to win the football game? Um, so, you know, we’ve got some guys in that room that have played before. We got a couple that haven’t at this level. Uh, they got a lot of talent. So I think it’s sitting down next week and really evaluating what type of spring do they actually have? Not what we think, but actually going back and looking at it and grading and detailing it. And right now, this plan moving forward, what’s that going to look like for June and July, knowing it’s going to be a competition up until game one. But I think it would be unfair to them in that room to really answer that without having been able to really go through everything.

Question: After spring wraps. Pete, like y’all did spring and phases, what was the off season phases or tiers? I mean, what will summer be? And then, you know, what’s the plan after this for the guys on a day to day basis?

Golding: Yeah. I mean, obviously the benefit of, you know, velocity based training and elite form in the weight room as it carries wherever they go, you know, so there’ll be still a plan of development in May, you know, from a strength and conditioning component that they got to log in and we get to see and all those type of things. I do think it’s really important for them to get away from the ball piece of it in May, and kind of recharge a little bit. And then the way the summer structure now when they come back, Memorial Day weekend, you know, school will start that Tuesday and then we’ll be right back into a four day split right of meet walk. Right. And then obviously be OTAs from their standpoint. Organized team activities, a seven on seven and all those things to go back and reinstall it. And so what you’ve done up to this point, you’re taking June and installing. Then you’re coming back in July instead of a four day split. It’s a three day split, right. And hitting again. So where by the time they get to fall camp, fall camp will be the fourth time that it’s been installed for these guys. You know, and that’s the benefit of the eight hours a week during the summer. You know, you get two hours a day. If you got a four day split, it’s about a meet and walk with them, which is really, really important. So, you know, my goal as coaches is every day they’re here, all right, we’re in this building and we’re here to develop them and to coach them. That’s our job. And so I think that’s really important in the summer that we don’t take a step back. We take a step forward. And that’s kind of how we’ve set up this model, um, to where time off for coaches, in my opinion, should be when your players aren’t there. Right. And that’s structuring it that way. But when they’re here, they got to be able to have access to us. So we got to be coaching and developing them and that’s what they want. So it’ll be a four day split in June. Three day split in July. Obviously that’s a ball component of it right. From an eight hours a week. And then that’ll roll right into fall camp. And it’ll be here before you know it. But the summer has been really, really big for us everywhere I’ve been, but really big for us here. When you add this many new guys that you’re planning on playing, there’s got to be a constant progression to it. But it does allow us to reset and start back over. And making sure they got everything and it’s really detailed. So that way when we get into fall camp, you know they’re in a really good spot.

Question: Pete, you’ve talked about sleepless Friday nights and whatnot, but you’ve also said the core of this team is really good too. Do you trust that you have the leaders on this team, like the Trinidad’s, that will keep their teammates accountable? Uh, even when you’re not watching to keep them from doing maybe something stupid on a Friday night?

Pete Golding: Yeah. I mean, I think we got a lot of really good leaders in the locker room. I think we got a lot of really good kids. You know what I’m saying? They have good intentions. But at the end of the day, right. They still are young, right. And there’s a lot of times that people in this room like myself make decisions that we wish we wouldn’t have. Right. And I think it’s really about, you know, understanding what do you have to lose? Right. And some of these people that we associate with don’t. And so I think there’s that self-discipline piece and that’s hard. You know, they read how good they are, right. And they go everywhere and take, you know, take pictures and get signed autographs. So. Um, but I think we got a nucleus of guys that have a goal and really know that they want to increase their value, really know, they want to try to compete for a championship and they know they don’t get to do all that. Right. You do all that &*(^,, you’re not going in the first round. You know, I mean, you got to give up a lot of things. So I think it’s been really good in my past, where you come off of a year like we had. Right. And you’re there, right? If you finish right, you have an opportunity to do what you want to do and you don’t. I think it makes everybody kind of look back in the mirror again is like, all right, you know, what are we willing to give up? And so I think there’s an adjustment sometimes when you add new guys to that, right, that haven’t been a part of that and haven’t felt that right, that, you know, how quick do they buy in, so to say  and understand that their decisions affect everybody. But absolutely, I think we got a lot of guys that do it the right way, right? That show guys how to do it. But at the end of the day, they still are young. And it’s about trying to put yourself in good positions with good people around you to eliminate some of those distractions.

Question: I think after the draft, there was a lot of like social media buzz that this Ole Miss, this 13-win team last year only got two players drafted. They return a lot of pieces. How do you kind of manage those expectations and does it feel like there’s a target on this team’s back going into next year?

Pete Golding: You know I think every year that you do well. You know I think number one you’re fighting complacency right? Because they read how good they are and they think they’ve arrived, which they haven’t. And then, you know, number two is, I mean, once you get a program and they start winning on a consistent basis, like you’re the game that’s circled, right? So instead of, you know, not getting everybody’s best all the time because they overlook you or what have you, they’re working on somebody else on your week or before, like the target’s going to be on your back. And so I think, you know, that’s happened not just this year. You know, I think we’ve had good years building up to this year to where I don’t think people are really excited to play Ole Miss. You know, I think there’s an off season study and some time in the summer and all those. But you know, my  biggest thing to them is stop focusing on the wrong &*^%. You know, we start worrying about the LSU game and everybody’s talking about and all that. You better worry about Louisville. Right? And you better worry about what you’re doing right now and the development of every day and what you’re putting into it. So I think it’s all what you put focus on and what you put attention on. But we’re not we’re not circling a game for us because we do feel like we’re talented enough that if we do it the right way and prepare the right way and practice the right way, that if we don’t beat ourselves, we’ll have a shot. But like I said before, I think more games are lost than they are won. And that’s the biggest thing where we’re getting to right now is you don’t know what play in a game is going to affect the outcome of the game. You can’t pick and choose when you want to lock in and focus and do your job. That’s got to be who we are, and there’s going to be some games that you might line up and they might be more talented than you, and we’re going to have to make more plays than they make, you know, and the ball might have to bounce our way. That’s football right. But let’s not beat ourselves by playing bad football. Let’s not beat ourselves by not being prepared or not taking care of our body or not practicing the right way. And I think that mentality, once you get to that and you don’t care who you’re playing, where you’re playing, when you’re playing, I think that’s your best chance. And so I think we got a lot of guys that do believe that, right? And you see that day in and day out. I don’t think we have enough guys. And that’s what we’re talking about playing winning football and getting enough guys in that category of playing winning football in this league on a consistent basis. I think you’ve got to get to that in order to compete for a championship on a consistent basis. So I think it was a good start, but we’re definitely not where we need to be.

Final thoughts

As Ole Miss wraps up its final days of spring work, Golding’s focus remains fixed on consistency, accountability, and building a roster capable of sustaining success. With a summer of development ahead and expectations continuing to rise, the Rebels are still a team in progress — one that believes its ceiling is high, but understands that reaching it will depend on the habits formed long before kickoff in the fall.

(Feature image credit: Parks Burcham, The Rebel Walk)