Ole Miss football takes portal turn at Pooh (Paul) corner, makes Friday night transfer splash
The Spirit on Monday reported Ole Miss football was already ‘down the road’ with Arkansas transfer linebacker Chris ‘Pooh’ Paul.
The parties arrived at their destination Friday night.
Paul — who, this weekend, is in Oxford on an official visit — committed to the Rebels. Ole Miss officially offered the 6-foot-1, 233-pound Paul on Monday, the first of a 30-day window players are allowed to enter the NCAA Transfer Portal.
Paul certainly addresses a need for the 10-2 Rebels, who, on Wednesday, celebrated the four-year anniversary of their hire of Lane Kiffin as head coach. Ole Miss has since earned two New Year’s Six bowl berths and finished inside the Top 10 in three straight regular seasons. The Rebels have won 19 of their last 21 home games.
Ole Miss is losing, among others, veteran linebackers Jeremiah Jean-Baptiste, Monty Montgomery and Ashanti Cistrunk after the Peach Bowl on December 30. The Rebels will be facing off against Penn State for the first time in history. A win would secure the program’s first-ever 11-win season.
Jean-Baptiste and Montgomery were one-year transfers from UCF and Louisville, respectively. Notable returnees at the position in 2024 include former On3 Five-Star Plus+ prospect Suntarine Perkins.
Paul received significant playing time over three seasons with the SEC West rival Razorbacks.
He racked up 137 total tackles, 15.0 tackles for loss, six sacks and one forced fumble. Paul was a freshman All-SEC honoree last season. He was also placed on the Butkus Award Watch list in the preseason.
Paul finished the 2023-24 season with 74 tackles, 6.5 tackles for loss and two sacks. He had an overall PFF grade of 59.2, including a run defense grade of 65.4, a tackling grade of 76.8, and a pass-rush grade of 64.5. His coverage grade was 51.6. Paul has two years of eligibility remaining.
Ole Miss is hosting a number of high-profile targets on visits this weekend. Indiana transfer tackle Carter Smith is in town, too, as are nine high-school prospects, including eight commitments. Headlining the group is Kamarion Franklin, the top-ranked prospect in Mississippi, Ole Miss commit and nation’s No. 53 overall player.
Other portal linebackers of interest to Ole Miss include Darris Smith (Georgia), Sam Frumfield (MTSU) and Jackson Bratton (UAB). Brumfield has a confirmed offer.
The Rebels are also a leading contender for South Carolina wide receiver Juice Wells, Texas A&M defensive tackle Walter Nolen, Florida EDGE Princely Umanmielen, UCF cornerback Corey Thornton and safeties Key Lawrence (Oklahoma) and Brandon Turnage (Tennessee).
Lawrence visited Ole Miss on Tuesday. Nolen is at Oregon this weekend. Wells is rumored to be in Oxford, too. He cancelled a planned visit to Texas.
