Ole Miss Transfer Portal Tracker: Rebels Land DB Transfer from Vanderbilt
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The preparation for the 2022 football season is under way in college football, but the path towards building the future of the sport is never on hiatus.
It's true for Lane Kiffin and Ole Miss, fresh off of a top 25 recruiting class and its raid of the NCAA transfer portal of late. The program has gone through considerable transition, from coaching staff to roster, coming off of the first 10-win regular season in program history.
Can the success be sustained? Continued strength on the recruiting trail would have to continue to play a primary part if so in the competitive SEC West and well beyond.
Stick with The Grove Report as we track the top class of 2023 recruits considering Kiffin's program all in one spot, dissecting offers, visits, top groups, commitments, decommitments and everything else Rebel recruiting-related with the next senior class.
MAY 30, 7:30 am UPDATE
Ole Miss landed another transfer on Sunday night, this time in the form of Vanderbilt DB Dashaun Jerkins who made his decision official on Twitter.
In his 2021 season, Jerkins hauled in three interceptions and 42 total tackles on a struggling Commodores team that finished the year with a 2-10 record.
MAY 25, 5:30 pm UPDATE
One of the initial wide receiver targets for Ole Miss, through the portal, will not enroll at the university. In fact, Deion Smith will be in the junior college ranks during the 2022 season.
According to a report from The Athletic, academic issues will hinder the former LSU wide receivers plans to enroll this year. He sat out of spring football after flashing as a true freshman in Baton Rouge, where Smith registered 11 receptions for 186 yards and two touchdowns.
Ole Miss hit wide receiver hard in the portal after the 2021 season, most recently adding former UCF wide receiver Jaylon Robinson earlier this month.
MAY 20, 10:30 am UPDATE
One of the top available transfers on the market is fielding interest from Ole Miss immediately after entering the transfer portal.
James Madison's Diamonte Tucker-Dorsey, an FCS All-American who registered 116 tackles, including 9 tackles for loss and 2.5 sacks in 2021, will take a trip to UCF this weekend and Texas soon after that. Ole Miss could eventually get him on campus before a decision, too.
"I'm a great teammate, I'm a natural-born leader," he told Orangebloods. "I'm gonna come in and be a contributor right away to whatever school I go to. I bring a lot of energy and lead by example."
Tucker-Dorsey, who has one year of college eligibility remaining, has announced transfer offers from Texas A&M, Auburn, Ole Miss, UCF and Texas since announcing his intent to hit the transfer portal on May 17.
The standout linebacker is looking to make a decision relatively soon.
MAY 10, 9:30 am UPDATE
One of the top players left in the transfer portal has a decision date in mind.
On Monday night, UCF wide receiver Jaylon Robinson told SI All-American he will be making one more visit (to Miami) and then will be ready to make a verbal commitment between Ole Miss, Tennessee, TCU and the Hurricanes on May 18.
Robinson's trip to Coral Gables will take place on Wednesday and run through Thursday, just about a week before the decision is to be public.
Ole Miss got the first official visit from Robinson, who loved his time with Lane Kiffin including a trip around town in the Rolls Royce that went semi viral on the internet.
"Coach Kiffin is Lane Kiffin, you know," Robinson said of what caught his attention early on with the Ole Miss program. "So he's a goat at what he does as an offensive coordinator; he puts players in a position to make plays, and the designs and stuff he does with moving people around kind of fits my style of play. Like what they did with Elijah Moore, so I wanted to give him the opportunity to recruit me as well."
APRIL 7, 10:15 am UPDATE
The newest transfer portal target has set his date to visit Ole Miss.
Chaton Mobley, the Middle Tennessee running back who is a graduate transfer candidate to play linebacker should he pick Ole Miss, will be on campus next week. Originally looking towards the weekend, Mobley will now see Oxford for the first time as a prospect on Thursday, April 14, he tells The Grove Report.
The Rebels will practice that day, too, ahead of the Grove Bowl later in the month.
A four-year special teams starter with seven total tackles and a field goal block to his name while in college, Mobley did play linebacker back at Knoxville (Tenn.) Fulton High School. As a multi-year starter he tallied 183 tackles and 10.5 sacks at the prep level on defense, including on the team's state championship run in 2014.
APRIL 4, 3:30 pm UPDATE
Another running back transfer to Ole Miss?
The biggest splash at the position nationally went down in Lane Kiffin's favor earlier this year in Zach Evans, but the staff may not be done courting backs with FBS experience. On Monday afternoon, former Middle Tennessee State running back Chaton Mobley announced an offer to play at Ole Miss along with a visit scheduled for early April.
In the announcement, though, the graduate transfer noted that the chance to be a Rebel came with a position change in mind -- linebacker.
Mobley has four years of experience, with at least eight games played every year since 2018, but has one year of eligibility remaining due to the pandemic. For his MTSU career, he carried the ball 308 times for 1,428 yards and 13 touchdowns to go along with 39 receptions for 341 yards and three more scores.
A four-year special teams starter with seven total tackles and a field goal block to his name while in college, Mobley did play linebacker back at Knoxville (Tenn.) Fulton High School. As a multi-year starter he tallied 183 tackles and 10.5 sacks at the prep level on defense, including on the team's state championship run in 2014.
MARCH 28, NOON CT UPDATE
Oxford High School (Miss.) alum Jack Abraham has had a winding path in his college career, but the portal quarterback was in Oxford last week, sources confirmed to The Grove Report.
Abraham originally committed to Tulane in his high school days before decommitting and signing with Louisiana Tech. An injury derailed his career for the Bulldogs, and the Mississippi native found his way to Southern Miss for the 2018-2020 seasons. Following his stay with the Golden Eagles, Abraham transferred to Mississippi State, and he is now seeking a new home once again, possibly as a depth piece in his native Oxford.
Abraham was a successful high school signal caller during his career, but his collegiate production came in his time in Hattiesburg. In his final season at USM, Abraham threw seven touchdowns and four interceptions.
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