In year one under Pete Golding, the Ole Miss defensive unit improved from the previous season, going from 9th in the Southeastern Conference to 6th. Yet, there’s room for improvement as the Rebels look to take the program to the next level as a National Championship contender in year five of the Lane Kiffin era in Oxford. There’s been a lot of talk about the Ole Miss offensive unit, leaving the defense needs to be more recognized as the Rebels focus on the opening game against Furman on August 31st. The offense might be sexy, but defense wins championships, and Pete Golding has this unit ready to take the next step this fall.

Coming into the fall of 2024, Pete Golding will have a lot to prove to the Rebel Nation, as last season, his defensive unit gave up over 400 yards of total offensive at least six times in 2023, with Georgia racking up 611 total yards, with 300 of which coming on the ground. Against LSU, in a win, Ole Miss allowed the Tigers to rack up 637 yards of total offense, a game that Ole Miss should have had no issue with being as close as it was.

From a personal standpoint, Ole Miss returns five starters from last season on the defensive side of the ball, including Jared Ivey, JJ Pegues, Khari Coleman, John Saunders Jr, and Trey Washington. Jared Ivey led the way for the Rebels in the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl against Penn State with eleven and a half tackles for loss in that win. Ivey was a large part of the Ole Miss defense last season as the one guy Pete Golding and his staff could count on to hammer down the Landshark front. With the experience from Ivey, Ole Miss also has JJ Pegues, who, in two seasons, continues to turn into a monster for the Rebels. During his two seasons at Ole Miss, Pegues has six and a half sacks for the Landshark defense.

Adding to the excitement for the legendary defensive line, Ole Miss hit the transfer portal hard, adding Walter Nolan from Texas A&M and Princely Umanmielen from Florida. Walter Nolan comes to Oxford as the top-ranked transfer in the 2024 class.

For the linebackers, Ole Miss hit the portal for Chris Paul Jr from Arkansas while developing Sunarine Perkins and Khari Coleman. While the secondary has John Saunders Jr and Trey Washington returning, Ole Miss hit the portal again to get Trey Amos and Brandon Turnage, adding to the depth of the Ole Miss defense.

Overall, Ole Miss is in a much better position on the defensive side of the ball than they have been in years. Ole Miss fans need to give Pete Golding some time. Still, the Rebels will be much better on defense this season, giving Coach Kiffin the extra boost needed to make a race at reaching Atlanta for the Southeastern Conference Championship game and even a bid to the 2024 College Football Playoff. There’s more experience added with an enormous amount of talent, creating the perfect storm for the 2024 Ole Miss defensive units to have a breakout season.

( Photo credits: Ole Miss Athletics)