Ole Miss' 2023 Transfer Class Among Top 10 in College Football

Ole Miss Rebels coach Lane Kiffin found another haul of impact players in the NCAA Transfer Portal this offseason.

Author:
Ben King
Publish date:
Jul 11, 2023 1:59 PM EDT

OXFORD, Miss. -- The NCAA Transfer Portal has played a crucial role in helping Ole Miss Rebels coach Lane Kiffin build his roster since he arrived in Oxford ahead of the 2020 college football season.

The 2023 offseason has been no different. As soon as Ole Miss' 2022 season was over, Kiffin began courting transfers who could either make an immediate impact or push other players already on his roster to greater heights. With the dust finally settling on the portal as teams prepare for media days and fall camps, 247Sports recently released rankings for the 10 best transfer portal classes from the 2023 cycle.

With a total of 25 commits, the Rebels earned the No. 6 spot. Ole Miss is one of three SEC teams to crack the top 10, joining the LSU Tigers (No. 1) and Auburn Tigers (No. 5).

Here is the excerpt on the Rebels' 2023 portal haul.

6. OLE MISS REBELS
Total transfers: 25
Hot names: Zakhari Franklin, WR (UTSA); Monty Montgomery, LB (Louisville); Isaac Ukwu, DL (James Madison)
Intel: Lane Kiffin and the Rebels took the rare two quarterbacks this transfer cycle, grabbing a multi-year starter from the Big 12 in Spencer Sanders from Oklahoma State and former heralded recruit Walker Howard from LSU. Both competed with Jaxson Dart this spring for QB1 honors in the fall. Kiffin loves the portal and has made transfer recruiting a significant piece of the roster-building puzzle in Oxford. He has been transparent on college football's new era of "free agency" and the importance of filling holes with proven commodities. Ukwu is a recent addition along the defensive front and the Rebels adding wide receiver Zakhari Franklin from UTSA gives them another top-end playmaker.

The headliners were obviously former transfers Spencer Sanders (Oklahoma State) and Walker Howard (LSU). Kiffin wanted to bring in competition for his incumbent starter, Jaxson Dart, and the additions to the quarterback room appear to have lit a fire under the Kaysville, Utah, native. Dart's improvement has many believing that the junior is set to win the starting job.

The Ole Miss receiver room needed a jump start after Jonathan Mingo and Malik Heath left for the NFL, so Kiffin brought in former transfers Zakhari Franklin (UTSA) and Tre Harris (Louisiana Tech). Harris has already been graded as one of the top returning wideouts in the SEC this upcoming season while Franklin is coming off a historic career with the Roadrunners. Franklin and Harris combined for 25 total touchdown receptions in 2022.

Defensive lineman Isaac Ukwu committed to Ole Miss in May and could be a diamond in the rough for the Rebel defense this fall. Ukwu recorded 87 tackles, 27.5 tackles for a loss, 16.5 sacks, three forced fumbles, a fumble recovery, and five passes defended in three seasons with the James Madison Dukes.

The 6-foot-3, 260-pound defensive lineman earned all 16.5 of his career sacks in the last two years.

The top 10 transfer classes of 2023 can be found below.

1. LSU Tigers

2. Colorado Buffaloes

3. USC Trojans

4. Florida State Seminoles

5. Auburn Tigers

6. Ole Miss Rebels

7. Miami Hurricanes

8. Oregon Ducks

9. Oklahoma Sooners

10. UCLA Bruins