Fall camp starts August 6, and there are plenty of position groups to be excited about. Ole Miss has talented players all over the field, but deepest group may be the linebackers.
The Rebels don’t just return one of the best defensive players in the SEC, they’ve stacked the room with experience, production and enough depth to survive the grind of a long season. It’s a group that looks different than it did a year ago, and it should provide the depth Pete Golding has been looking for this offseason.
Here’s a closer look at the linebackers as Ole Miss gets ready to open fall practice.
Ole Miss Linebackers
#4 Suntarine Perkins, Sr.
- H/W: 6-foot-2, 220 lbs.
- 2025 Stats (Ole Miss): 81 tackles, including 41 solo tackles, 12.5 TFL, 4.5 sacks, one interception, five pass breakups, 12 quarterback hurries, three forced fumbles and two fumble recoveries in 15 games.
- How arrived in Oxford: Perkins might be a new type of unicorn in college football, the type that only plays at one school. Perkins has been starting games for Ole Miss since his freshman season in 2023 and his role and stats have only grown from there. He’s also one of the players many thought might follow Kiffin to LSU, but Perkins chose to stay.
- 2026 Outlook: As the returning tackles leader, Perkins isn’t just a defensive leader, he’s a team leader. He’ll be at plenty of pregame coin tosses as a captain. On the field, Perkins has the chance to have a huge season. He’s already been named to four preseason All-America teams, All-SEC teams and is on the preseason watch lists for the Chuck Bednarik, Lombardi and Bronko Nagurski trophies.
#11 Keaton Thomas, Sr.
- H/W: 6-foot-1, 240 lbs.
- 2025 Stats (Baylor): 103 tackles, seven TFL, one sack, one interception, three pass breakups, one quarterback hurry and one fumble-return touchdown in 12 starts.
- How arrived in Oxford: Thomas is one of the most notable defensive additions for Ole Miss from the transfer portal. He spent the last two years terrorizing Big 12 defenses at Baylor and even produced one of the best defensive seasons in Baylor history in 2024. Before that, Thomas was a Northeast Mississippi CC where he earned first-team NJCAA All-America honors. In the last three seasons, Thomas has racked up 324 total tackles.
- 2026 Outlook: Losing Dottery hurts, but Thomas can ease that pain. He’s already shown the ability to play at a high level as one of the best defenders in the Big 12. Reports from spring practices were glowing for him, too. With all the pieces around him on defense, it might be more shocking if Thomas doesn’t reach at least 100 tackles for a fourth-straight season.
#12 Luke Ferrelli, So.
- H/W: 6-foot-3, 230 lbs.
- 2025 Stats (California): 91 tackles, including 38 solo tackles, five TFL, one sack, one interception, one pass breakup and one quarterback hurry in 13 starts.
- How he arrived in Oxford: Just like most fans know how Trinidad Chambliss got to Ole Miss, they know how Ferrelli got to Oxford. In fact, Clemson coach Dabo Swinney laid out a pretty detailed timeline you can read here.
- 2026 Outlook: Off-the-field, tampering investigation aside, Ferrelli won’t need to be the leading tackler, or have a monstrous season. Not with players like Perkins and Thomas on the field, but he can still make a big impact. Depth has been a theme for Ole Miss on defense this offseason, Ferrelli certainly provides that.
#22 Raymond Collins, Sr.
- H/W: 6-foot-2, 235 lbs.
- 2025 Stats (Ole Miss): Five tackles, including four solo tackles, in 10 games.
- How arrived in Oxford: Collins is a native of Gulfport, Miss. and went the junior college route out of high school. In two seasons at Jones College, Collins amassed 102 total tackles and was rated a four-star transfer prospect. He redshirted in 2024 with Ole Miss, appearing a limited special teams role. That role expanded some last season.
- 2026 Outlook: Special teams is just as important of a phase of the game as offense or defense, it’s just less glamorous. Ole Miss needs good players on special teams to limit any big gains by opposing teams that might flip position or who’s leading on the scoreboard.
#23 Jarcoby Hopson, Fr.-RS
- H/W: 6-foot-2, 250 lbs.
- 2025 Stats (Ole Miss): One assisted tackle in four games.
#26 Ant Davis Jr., Fr.
- H/W: 6-foot-1, 220 lbs.
- 2025 Stats (Grayson High School): 50 tackles, 12 TFL and two sacks as a senior.
#30 JaMichael Garrett, Fr.
- H/W: 6-foot-2, 200 lbs.
- 2025 Stats (Central High School): No official individual statistics were publicly listed for the 2025 season.
#42 Bryson Walters, Fr.-RS
- H/W: 6-foot-2, 240 lbs.
- 2025 Stats (Ole Miss): Redshirted.
#44 Tony Mitchell, Sr.
- H/W: 6-foot-1, 240 lbs.
- 2025 Stats (Mississippi State): 25 tackles in 11 games, including three starts.
- How arrived in Oxford: Mitchell comes to Ole Miss after one season at the Rebels’ biggest rival, Mississippi State. He had a limited role last season with the Bulldogs as a safety. Before that Mitchell became the No. 2 overall JUCO player in one season at East Mississippi CC. Mitchell is a former five-star safety out of high school who signed with Alabama and played in seven games as a true freshman in 2023.
- 2026 Outlook: This soley depends on his transition as a safety to linebacker. That includes body size. At Mississippi State he was listed at 215-pounds and Ole Miss’s roster has him at 240. Rosters aren’t always accurate, though, so we’ll wait and see. But if Pete Golding can bring out what made Mitchell a five-star high school recruit and one of the best junior college prospects, Mitchell could have a big season. He also fits into the depth the Rebels aimed for this offseason.
#48 Mark Trigg Jr., Jr.
- H/W: 6-foot-1, 200 lbs.
- 2025 Stats (Ole Miss): Redshirted.
- How arrived in Oxford: Trigg joined the Rebels as a non-scholarship player before the start of the 2023 season. He didn’t play in any games that season and has appeared in just one game in each of the following seasons.
- 2026 Outlook: Trigg’s impact will come behind the scenes. Most likely he’ll be a scout team linebacker in practices and could possibly see some action on special teams. But college football teams need lots of bodies for practices and, who knows, Trigg could develop into something special.
#49 Tah’j Butler, Jr.
- H/W: 6-foot-1, 235 lbs.
- 2025 Stats (Georgia Tech): 34 tackles, including 18 solo tackles, three TFL, one interception, three pass breakups and one quarterback hurry in 13 games.
- How arrived in Oxford: Butler spent the last two seasons at Georgia Tech, but mostly in a backup role. He started just three games and played in 26. In the two seasons combined, Butler had 59 tackles, 35 solo, and 7.5 tackles for a loss. If given the opportunity to have a more prominent role, those numbers could go up much higher.
- 2026 Outlook: Butler will get playing time on the field and he might be in competition for one of the starting linebacker spots. But he fills the important need that keeps getting repeated: depth. With Butler, Perkins, Thomas, Ferrelli and Mitchell, the Rebels have five starting-caliber linebackers that can rotate in and out without the defense losing a step.
#53 Ford Beeker, Fr.-RS
- H/W: 5-foot-11, 205 lbs.
- 2025 Stats (Ole Miss): Redshirted.
#56 Hayden Parker, Fr.
- H/W: 6-foot-2, 205 lbs.
- 2025 Stats (Briarcrest Christian School): 40 tackles, including 30 solo tackles, four TFL and one fumble recovery in 11 games.
