Among the many, many concerns Ole Miss fans had about its football program when Lane Kiffin chose to abandon the Rebels for LSU was the impact on recruiting.
Specifically, on the offensive side since new coach Pete Golding retained his entire defensive coaching staff sans Kiffin’s brother. Several offensive assistants followed Kiffin to the bayou and its those assistants that do the heavy lifting in recruiting.
However, losing running backs coach Kevin Smith and wide receivers coach George McDonald isn’t having the big impact many feared.
Four-star wide receiver Tae Walden Jr. (Collierville, Tenn.) still has Ole Miss on his list of interested schools and, according to Rivals’ Chad Simmons, he’ll be making a visit to Oxford this weekend, weather permitting.
“I’ll be back at Ole Miss this week,” Walden told Simmons. “They had some changes, but the new staff is on me. Coach McDonald was my guy, but Coach (L’Damian) Washington has picked right up. He’s a cool guy and he’s doing a good job. I want to spend more time with him on this visit. Oxford is a nice place and has a good atmosphere. I’m looking forward to getting back.”
Walden put up some eye-popping numbers during his junior season at Collierville High School. As a junior, he caught 42 passes for 912 yards and 10 touchdowns. He also had 1,460 all-purpose yards and 14 total touchdowns. Defensively, he had five interceptions and 17 pass breakups.
However, Ole Miss isn’t the only school looking to add Walden to its 2027 signing class. Auburn and Tennessee have hosted Walden for visits and he’s received offers from other schools like Ohio State, Georgia and Michigan.
“Auburn and Tennessee have been recruiting me the hardest,” he said. “Ole Miss has been consistent. Georgia and Michigan have been picking it up too. The amount of love they’ve been showing me has really impressed me and my family.
“I’ve visited Tennessee three times and the atmosphere there is amazing,” he said. “It’s different inside Neyland Stadium. I really like the coaches — that’s probably why they’re so high on my list. Coach Pope and Coach Heupel are great guys, and the staff really makes Tennessee stand out.”
Simmons adds that Walden plans to narrow down his list of schools over the next couple of months with July being a target for a commitment. Walden also made it clear what his top priority is.
“It’s all about development,” he said. “I want to be developed to be the best I can be. My goal is to be ready for the NFL in three years.”
There are nine former Rebel wide receivers in the NFL this season. It’s not the most, but shows that Ole Miss can develop NFL wide receivers.
