Ole Miss football will begin its fall practices in less than a week.
On August 6, the Rebels will hit the field in the typical Mississippi summer heat and humidity for the first time since spring practices. Nobody needs a recap of the expectations and hopes for the upcoming season, but this is one of the most anticipated seasons in Oxford in a long time.
To reach those goals, Ole Miss will need to be better than it was in 2025. Part of that includes what’s been the theme of these fall camp positional previews: depth.
Ole Miss coach Pete Golding has talked multiple times about wanting more defenders capable of playing meaningful snaps in big games. The Rebels feel like they’ve done that, especially along the defensive line.
The Rebels brought in three defensive ends from the transfer portal to help accomplish that. Here’s a look at the defensive ends on the Rebels’ roster.
Ole Miss Defensive Ends
#1 Jordan Renaud, Jr.
- H/W: 6-foot-3, 265 lbs.
- 2025 Stats (Alabama): Played in 15 games with three starts, recording 18 tackles, 1.5 tackles for loss and two quarterback hurries.
- How arrived in Oxford: Spent three seasons at Alabama from 2023-25 before transferring to Ole Miss this last offseason.
- 2026 Outlook: At some point we’ll get tired of talking about depth, but that’s not today. The goal this offseason was to have more depth to withstand the long, grueling SEC schedule the Rebels will face. Renaud is part of that solution.
#3 Blake Purchase, Jr.
- H/W: 6-foot-3, 250 lbs.
- 2025 Stats (Oregon): Played in 15 games and recorded 32 tackles, including 13 solo stops, 4.5 tackles for loss and two sacks. Also intercepted one pass and recorded one pass breakup.
- How arrived in Oxford: Spent three seasons at Oregon from 2023-25 before transferring to Ole Miss this past offseason.
- 2026 Outlook: Another depth, rotational piece for the Rebels added this past offseason. Purchase was stuck behind a couple of All-Americans in Eugene. Ole Miss offers him a chance at more playing time and he should be getting it.
#5 Kam Franklin, Jr.
- H/W: 6-foot-5, 295 lbs.
- 2025 Stats (Ole Miss): Played in 15 games and recorded 69 tackles, including 33 solo stops, nine tackles for loss and five sacks. Added three pass breakups and one forced fumble.
- How arrived in Oxford: Signed with Ole Miss out of Lake Cormorant High School as part of the Rebels’ 2024 recruiting class.
- 2026 Outlook: Barring an injury or a sudden dip in production, Franklin has a chance to be one of the SEC’s best defensive ends. He was one of Rebels that Lane Kiffin would’ve loved to have brought with him to LSU and it was a huge win when his return was announced.
#15 Landon Barnes, Fr.
- H/W: 6-foot-3, 250 lbs.
- 2025 Stats (Duncanville High School): Recorded 21 tackles for loss, nine sacks and 23 quarterback pressures during his senior season.
- 2026 Outlook: Barnes was one of the higher rated signings for Ole Miss in the last recruiting cycle. It wouldn’t be surprising to see him on the field this season. He can fill in when the regular starters or backups need a breather. Over time, though, expect that playing time to increase.
#17 Jonathan Maldonado, Sr.
- H/W: 6-foot-6, 250 lbs.
- 2025 Stats (Nevada): Started 12 games and recorded 38 tackles, including 20 solo stops, nine tackles for loss and five sacks. Added one interception, four pass breakups and one quarterback hurry.
- How arrived in Oxford: Played at Nevada from 2022-25 before transferring to Ole Miss ahead of the 2026 season.
- 2026 Outlook: Reports out of spring practices were good for Maldonado. It wouldn’t be a crazy bet that he’ll start opposite of Franklin. There’ll likely be a rotation along the defensive line and Maldonado should be featured heavily in that.
#45 Talib Graham, RS-Fr.
- H/W: 6-foot-1, 250 lbs.
- 2025 Stats (Ole Miss): Appeared in four games and recorded three tackles, including two solo stops.
- How arrived in Oxford: Signed with Ole Miss out of Daphne High School in the 2025 recruiting class and redshirted during his first season.
- 2026 Outlook: Graham’s role this season will be to keep developing and provide some depth. Like a few other younger players, he’ll get most of his playing time in blowout wins.
#54 Tre Ellis, Fr.
- H/W: 6-foot-1, 260 lbs.
- 2025 Stats (Copiah Academy): n/a
- 2026 Outlook: Expect this to be more of a developmental season for Ellis. Redshirts are no longer a thing in college sports, but that’s the kind of season to expect.
#55 Cam Clark, Sophomore
- H/W: 6-foot-2, 255 lbs.
- 2025 Stats (Ole Miss): No individual defensive statistics were recorded.
- How arrived in Oxford: Signed with Ole Miss out of South Gibson High School as part of the Rebels’ 2024 recruiting class and was redshirted last season.
- 2026 Outlook: Another depth, rotational piece for Ole Miss along the defensive line. Clark didn’t see any action last season, but he could play a role on some special teams units and give other defensive ends a break during games. Most of his playing time, though, will come in blowout wins.
#99 Carmelow Reed, Fr.
- H/W: 6-foot-6, 275 lbs.
- 2025 Stats (Morgan Park High School): Recorded 60 tackles, 14 tackles for loss and nine sacks during his senior season, averaging 4.1 tackles per game.
- 2026 Outlook: His size makes him a candidate to see some playing time as a true freshman, but don’t expect it to be a lot.
