Pete Golding Makes Ole Miss' Position Clear After Major Court Ruling, Explains FBI Involvement

OXFORD | College football is changing on a day-to-day basis with the next court ruling seemingly able to control what steps come next.

Just in the last couple of days, a Louisiana court ruled that 2022 high school graduates that have signed professional athletic contracts, are able to return to collegiate athletics for the upcoming season to mark their fifth season of eligibility.

Among the group of roughly 30 beneficiaries features former Ole Miss starters Dae’Quan Wright, Wydett Williams and Zxavian Harris. All three were members of the 2022 class and signed contracts with NFL teams this offseason. Williams has expressed no interest in pursuing a return to college football as he tries to stick with the Arizona Cardinals, while Wright and Harris have entered the transfer portal with Ole Miss’ help.

Wright was waived by the Cleveland Browns on Sunday and his representation made it public that he had an agreement in place with LSU should he clear waivers.

The last real hurdle standing between Wright and a reunion with his old coaching staff, now in Baton Rouge, is another court hearing that will allow him to transfer within the conference following the winter portal window.

Ole Miss head coach Pete Golding gave his thoughts on the situation, following Monday’s practice, and reiterated his previous thoughts as it pertained to the Rebels’ current roster.

“Obviously it’s unique times. I think every year it’s been a little something different. Since COVID there’s been something new that you’ve had to manage and go through and it’s always very fluid. It feels like it changes everyday with a different court case and all those type of things, but I think this one’s unique based off the timing of things,” Golding said. “Kind of like we talked about in the last press conference, is ‘Here are the guidelines in which you’re responsible for managing a roster.’ There’s numbers and specific things that you obviously gotta do to put yourself in position to win.”

Ole Miss’ head coach likes where his team currently stands at those positions and that the Rebels are relatively healthy heading into the season.

“I think from the very beginning some of these guys that have become available to the outside looking in, don’t always fit a need where we’re at,” Golding explained. “That’s kind of what I said (earlier this month). From an injury component, there are things that you’ve had some banged up spots to where obviously if this is what we’re going to do and this is what everybody’s doing within the framework of college football, then there’s certain spots that we’d have interest in too. There’s certain spots to where we filled with really good players that have gone through a spring, gone through a summer, that have done everything the right way that there’s not a need there.

"I’m not going to get into my feelings of what I think it does for the sport, but I think all of us have a responsibility to our current roster and there’s a responsibility to the chair that you’re in. I’m strictly basing it on ‘Okay, what’s in the room right now?’ Our numbers are where they’re supposed to be we got really good players that we went and recruited that have invested and bought into what we’re asking them to do. Then there are some spots that we got banged up, and that room wasn’t what it was in January. We got some guys with some season-ending injuries in certain spots that, if it becomes available to give us more opportunity and more depth, and that’s what we’re all doing, then we’ll have to look into that.”

But wait, there's more

Ole Miss head coach Pete Golding runs off the field during warmups before the CFP Fiesta Bowl at the State Farm Stadium, in Glendale, Ariz., on Thursday, Jan. 8, 2026. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

Golding also had to get into another topic that revolved around the security measures surrounding the Manning Center throughout his initial transition into head coach.

In an interview with the Assorted Crackers Podcast, Grove Collective director Walker Jones said that the FBI came into the Manning Center before the College Football Playoffs to sweep the building of recording devices.

Though Ole Miss did get help from someone connected to the FBI, it wasn’t exactly to the measures that it was made out to be on social media over the weekend.

“Any bowl game, playoff system, obviously you’re going to up security. I’m not sure there was a hiring process of ‘Here we go with the FBI’. I do think we probably have a current player whose dad just so happens to work for the FBI that lives in town — from that standpoint,” Golding said Monday. “There was no measure ‘Oh my gosh, they’re coming in’ from that standpoint. Obviously anytime you get in that playoff system and you have guys from this building go to other places, you want to make sure it’s secure for your players.

The video access and everything else and all those things that you;re doing regardless of where you’re at. That’s no different than in the semis as the quarters, regardless of where you’re at, for the hotels that you’re staying in. You’ve got to up the security, people are in and out, and you’re sweeping trash cans. That’s been done for the history of ball, so no there was no hiring process of ‘Hey, let’s get the FBI in here holy cow’. It wasn’t anything like that.”

No. 9 Ole Miss is just 13 days away from opening the 2026 season against No. 24 Louisville in Nashville. The Rebels have begun game preparations this week, but will slowly move with a ‘hybrid’ approach as they continue to assess their roster.

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