Multiple Ole Miss sources have allegedly accused Lane Kiffin of leaking NIL contract details and term sheets through agents connected to transfer portal signees. It was an apparent effort to destabilize his former program’s locker room. The fallout was immediate. Linebacker TJ Dottery entered the transfer portal shortly after the leak. And now it appears the damage may be spreading to other key players on Pete Golding’s roster.​

The latest troubling sign came Friday morning when star Ole Miss defensive lineman William Echoles posted a photo on Snapchat showing he was on LSU’s campus, according to college football writer CJ. The post featured a black car with two tiger emojis as the caption and a location tag for Louisiana State University. It was a clear indicator that Echoles is at least exploring his options in Baton Rouge despite not having entered the transfer portal.

For Golding, this visit should set off alarm bells. Echoles hasn’t officially entered the portal. It means this appears to be an unofficial visit or backdoor conversation happening while he’s still technically committed to Oxford. Moreover, this would also come under the tampering rules of the transfer portal.

Echoles has been one of the cornerstones of Golding’s defense over the past two seasons. He has earned second-team All-SEC honors in 2025 after recording 57 tackles, 4.5 sacks, and 9.5 tackles for loss. The 6-foot-3, 290-pound defensive lineman from St. Martin, Mississippi, announced in late December that he’d be returning to Ole Miss for the 2026 season, giving Golding and the Rebels a critical piece to build around after losing several starters. Echoles’ return was seen as a major win for Golding. But now, less than a month after publicly committing to stay, Echoles is apparently taking a closer look at LSU. And it’s not hard to connect the dots back to Kiffin’s alleged tampering efforts.​

The timing of Echoles’ LSU visit is particularly damning given the context of Kiffin’s reported actions over the past week. According to sources, Kiffin has been “speed-dialing Ole Miss’s roster” and leaking contract details through agents. Ben Garrett of On3 reported that “through Dottery and others, Kiffin is making a run at [defensive backs Trey] Harper and [Princely] Umanmielen.” 

If Echoles ends up following Dottery out the door, it would mark a significant escalation in a bitter feud between the two programs. Ole Miss has been active in the portal itself. They’ve added 22 incoming transfers, including former LSU players like running back JT Lindsey and offensive tackle Carius Curne. But losing a player of Echoles’ caliber, especially to Kiffin, would be a devastating blow to Golding’s defensive rebuild.​

Another blow to Ole Miss 

As if Pete Golding didn’t have enough on his plate dealing with William Echoles quietly visiting LSU, the Rebels suffered another significant defensive loss on Friday when edge rusher Da’Shawn Womack signed with Auburn.

The 6-foot-5, 265-pound former five-star prospect spent just one season in Oxford after transferring from LSU. He recorded 27 tackles, two sacks, and a forced fumble during Ole Miss’s College Football Playoff run. Womack becomes the third SEC school on his resume in four years. Auburn’s new head coach, Alex Golesh, landed Womack largely because of a connection to former St. Frances Academy position coach Wayne Dorsey, who’s now Auburn’s assistant edge coach and coached Womack for four years in Baltimore. 

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The silver lining, if there is one, is that Pete Golding has attacked the portal aggressively himself. He has brought in 12 transfers and built what’s currently ranked as the No. 4 portal class in the nation/ Ole Miss has added reinforcements across the roster, including multiple former LSU players like running back JT Lindsey and offensive tackle Carius Curne. But losing Womack to Auburn, combined with the uncertainty surrounding Echoles and other defensive pieces, shows just how fragile roster management has become in the portal era.