The Rebels are still alive in the College Football Playoffs, having made it to the semifinals, but Pete Golding has already started working overtime in the transfer portal. The newly minted head coach just pulled off a sneaky-good pickup. It’s confirmed that Ole Miss landed a former Alabama defensive tackle from Deion Sanders’ Colorado program, using connections that only come from years in Tuscaloosa. 

Jehiem Oatis is the definition of untapped potential. The Columbia, Mississippi, native arrived at Alabama as a four-star recruit in 2022, standing 6-foot-5 and tipping the scales at a whopping 370 pounds. Now listed as one of the more intriguing physical specimens in the portal, Oatis has the size and athleticism to be a disruptive force on the interior. The question has never been about his talent. It’s about consistency and fit, two things that eluded him during his one forgettable season under Deion Sanders, wearing the black and gold in Boulder.​

Coach could not help develop Jehiem Oatis in DL’s 2025 stint at Colorado. The 325-pounder could only manage nine tackles and one pass breakup across 11 games. But Pete Golding knows exactly what he’s getting with Oatis because he was there at the beginning of his story. As Alabama’s defensive coordinator in 2022, the 41-year-old coached Oatis during his true freshman season, watching him start 10 of 12 games and rack up 29 tackles, including two for loss and a sack. 

That relationship is the foundation of this reunion, and Pete Golding has made it clear he values guys who “love football” rather than those who “love football for what it can do for them.” The fact that Oatis chose Ole Miss over other suitors speaks volumes about the bond they built in Tuscaloosa. Golding is targeting players he’s evaluated up close, leveraging those Alabama connections to build out his defensive front. 

After that productive freshman season under Golding, Oatis followed up with 26 tackles as a sophomore in 2023. He maintained his role as a valuable rotational piece along the Crimson Tide’s defensive line. But things started unraveling in 2024 when he redshirted after just four games under new head coach Kalen DeBoer. He eventually entered the transfer portal and landed at Colorado with high expectations. 

The 2025 season in Boulder was a disaster, and while Oatis did generate 11 quarterback pressures, the overall production was nowhere near what Colorado needed when they signed him. Sanders’ Buffaloes ranked 135th out of 136 teams in rush defense. And Oatis couldn’t find his footing in a system that clearly didn’t maximize his skill set.​ Now, this is Oatis’s last shot to show NFL scouts the player he can be. And reuniting with the coach who got the best out of him as an 18-year-old freshman might be exactly what the doctor ordered.​

Locking down the backfield

While Golding has been busy raiding the transfer portal for defensive reinforcements like Oatis, he’s also been doing the equally important work of keeping his best offensive weapons in Oxford. Running back Kewan Lacy, a Doak Walker Award finalist who absolutely tormented defenses in 2025, has officially signed to return for the 2026 season. This is a massive win for a first-year head coach trying to maintain momentum while reshaping his roster.

Lacy finished third in the entire FBS with 1,464 rushing yards and led the SEC with 23 touchdowns, scoring in every game except one and racking up 1,637 yards from scrimmage. He showed up when it mattered most during the playoff run. He grinded out 98 yards and two scores against Georgia in the Sugar Bowl thriller. 

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What makes Lacy’s return even sweeter is that he’s coming back alongside quarterback Trinidad Chambliss. It forms a one-two punch that combined for nearly 2,000 rushing yards and made Ole Miss’s offense a nightmare to defend. As Ole Miss prepares for their Fiesta Bowl showdown against Miami, Golding has to feel pretty good about the foundation he’s building.