LOOK: Ole Miss football has hit the Peach Bowl grounds running
Ole Miss football has hit the ground running since arriving in Atlanta for the Peach Bowl on Christmas Day.
The Rebels, the last two days, have made the interview rounds. Lane Kiffin kicked off the week with a press conference, followed by players Dayton Wade and Ashanti Cistrunk.
Pete Golding took his turn on Wednesday — in his first media appearance since August. Kiffin prohibits his assistants from speaking to the media in-season.
The Peach Bowl will close out the first season for Golding as Ole Miss defensive coordinator. He came over from Alabama last off-season and engineered an incredible defensive turnaround for the Rebels. They finished as a Top 25 unit in ESPN’s S&P rankings.
He’s also impressed on the recruiting trail.
Golding was instrumental in building out one of, if not the best, transfer-portal classes in the country in the weeks leading up to Christmas.
Among the players Golding played an integral role in landing include the portal’s top overall player (Texas A&M defensive tackle Walter Nolen), the No. 1 wide receiver (Juice Wells, South Carolina), top-two EDGE rushers (Tyler Baron, Tennessee, and Princely Umanmielen, Florida), No. 1 linebacker (Chris ‘Pooh’ Paul, Arkansas) and No. 4 cornerback (Decamerion Richardson, Mississippi State).
“This day and age, I still think you have to make it fun, which I think (Ole Miss head) coach (Lane) Kiffin does an unbelievable job of,” Golding said. Ole Miss is in its second New Year’s Six in four seasons under Kiffin. A win over Penn State would secure the program’s first-ever 11-win campaign.
“And then the football part of it, (recruits/transfers) want to be in a scheme that’s pro-ready. It’s important to be around guys that have coached NFL guys. Not that it makes you a better coach, but from a connection standpoint, when (NFL general managers) and scouts come in, I’m comparing (defensive backs) to first-round DBs. Comparing (defensive linemen) to first-round d-linemen.
“Not that I’m better than anyone else, but the same guys, same questions. Kids can increase their value by playing in the same system and have a more immediate impact.”
Also this week, Ole Miss has gone against Penn State in two off-field, bowl-specific events. The Rebels won them both, including the dual-team outing to Andretti Indoor Karting. The other was the Five Yard Frenzy putting competition.
The included photos of the bowl week so far were provided by the Peach Bowl.
FIVE YARD FRENZY
ANDRETTI INDOOR KARTING
OLE MISS PRACTICE
OLE MISS PRESS CONFERENCES
