Ole Miss Football concluded its spring drills on Thursday, April 30. In this year’s spring session, which began on March 27, the Rebels took the field for the first time in anticipation of the 2026-27 season.
Head coach Pete Golding told the media in his final spring press conference on April 27 that the second-to-last week of practice followed a mock game week schedule. Then, for the final week, Golding pivoted his strategy and placed players in difficult situations and evaluated how they handled the challenges.
“We mocked the game week last week, which I thought was really good from a routine standpoint for our players,” Golding said. “Coming off that, we need to play more football … get awareness, put some guys in tough spots and see what they are about, so we’re going to put them into the fire this week.”
Golding said he focused on getting every position group involved this week but noted that he had seen some big performances from the Rebels secondary.
“We got some guys playing well now; we got Dorian (Barney) back from the hand deal. He had a big pick six in the two-minute (drill) on Friday,” Golding said. “I think Sharif (Denson) is playing at a high level right now, (and) I think Joenel (Aguero) is getting better every practice.”
Golding also named Antonio Kite and Ladarian “Squirrel” Clardy as two players he has pushed this spring to become more consistent leaders for the team.
“Kite has continued to play well and started stacking some days. I’ve been on him a pretty good bit lately (about) the consistency in his performance and showing the right example for these young guys,” Golding said. “Squirrel (is) still really athletic. He’s got (an) extremely high ceiling, but Squirrel’s gotta show up day in and day out.”
Golding also gave his final thoughts on the Rebels’ quarterback depth. Currently, there are five quarterbacks rostered behind starter Trinidad Chambliss.
Two of these are Auburn transfer Deuce Knight and Walker Howard, who transferred back to Oxford after one season with the University of Louisiana at Lafayette. In addition, AJ Maddox, who only saw action against the Citadel last season, will compete for a larger role.
Golding said he has focused on placing the quarterbacks in tight spots this spring. Once the drills wrap up, he will evaluate, based on statistics, who the No. 2 quarterback on the depth chart will be.
“Spring is (about) putting them in those situations and kind of removing your emotions. … Let’s really look at the stats and the grades and the production,” Golding said. “I think it’s sitting down next week and really evaluating what type of spring did they actually have, not what we think.”
The next steps for the Rebels during the month of May are strength and conditioning and a bit of rest.
“I do think it’s really important for (the players) to get away from the (football) piece of it in May and kind of recharge a little bit,” Golding said.
Overall, Golding appeared pleased with how the team looked this spring; however, there is much work to be done. The players are ready to push through the summer and get prepared for the season.
“(Training has) been going good, (but) we’re nowhere near where we need to be,” Golding said.
