The college football 2026 season is officially underway in Oxford.
Ole Miss held its first preseason practice Thursday a month before its first game against Louisville. Local media were allowed to watch roughly 10 minutes of the practice, but got to spend much more time with head coach Pete Golding and select players after practice ended.
Golding answered reporters’ questions for roughly 15 minutes Thursday. Here’s everything he said.
Pete Golding, Head Coach
On impressions of first day of camp…
“I think the way we restructured it, it really didn’t feel like the first day of camp. It feels like we’ve kind of been at this for a while now.
“But it was really good to get some of those guys who weren’t able to go through a competitive period in the spring back out there and really see whether they are who we thought they were. Those two guys you brought up have the ability to be really good players. I’ve been really impressed with the summer Edwin has had. We’re still working on the work ethic a little bit and some of the outside things, but when you spot the ball, the kid is special. He has unique ability and a lot of versatility. I thought he had a really good first day, and it was good to see him show up when it mattered.
“I think Jordan has gotten a lot better in the weight room. Obviously, he had surgery in the spring, but he had a really good summer. I think he gives us a different presence on the edge. He’s heavy-handed, but he’s also athletic enough to be a good pass rusher. I was really excited to see both of them have good days and be healthy.
“As for the overall state of the team, we’ve gotten most of the guys back who we didn’t have in the spring. We do have a couple of guys banged up, whether it’s hamstrings or shoulders. That’s primarily at the wide receiver position more than anything right now. We’ll have to monitor that as we go. It’s nothing we’re concerned about. We’re just making sure we manage it the right way moving forward. Other than that, we’re in pretty good health.”
On recent court ruling giving the Class of 2022 an extra year of eligibility…
“Under the guidelines that have been in place since I took the job, we’ve managed this roster and this team based on those rules. The timing of this isn’t perfect for creating a lot of opportunities for certain people when you’ve already had a roster limit. There aren’t any additional roster exemptions like there were during COVID.
“Yes, there have obviously been conversations with a couple of those guys from the class of ’22 who are in other camps. It has been about their health, their status and what that might look like. But it has been more from the standpoint that, if somebody were to get injured during camp and something became available, you would have someone to go to who has actually been in this system.
“Our numbers are what they are right now, and we’re where we need to be. But there have definitely been conversations in case something were to occur and we needed to go in that direction.”
On how he stays informed of changes to college sports…
“Taylor does an unbelievable job in compliance. He has a good feel for the things that are being discussed or floated out there that could be voted on in the future. If something were to happen, what would your stance be? Is there a plan in place? There are very few things that actually get passed that you haven’t already heard about or don’t have a plan for. But when you’re managing the roster and the team, are you going to wait on that moment and leave space when it might not get passed?
“I’m always going to operate based on the rules that are in place right now and then have a plan for if something does occur. Taylor, Keith and all those guys do a great job. We also talk about a lot of these things in the head coaches’ meetings. They get brought up before they’re voted on because they could potentially occur, so you’re ahead of it from that standpoint. I defer to Taylor and those guys on a lot of that. It’s basically, ‘Hey, man, when this is real, call me.'”
On comfort level with new OC John David Baker and offensive progress…
“I’ll tell you after a little while. No, obviously, I trust JDB. He’s done it, and he’s done it well. It has been a really good fit. I think he has added a couple of new wrinkles that are good based on the personnel we have. From the very beginning, JDB was a plug-and-play hire. He already had some rapport with current players who were here, understood the system and believed in the system while still tweaking it and adding some new things.
“I love how he coaches. I love what he’s about. I think he’s a really good recruiter as well, and the kids respond to him really well. I also think he and Joe work really well together, so I like where they are. Looking at the first day of camp, I think we’re further along in terms of guys knowing what to do and having more things installed than we’ve been before. He has done a good job up to this point.”
On team goals during preseason practices…
“We talked about it a little bit at SEC Media Days. To me, it’s about trying to put them in as many game-like situations as possible. Sometimes those situations don’t come up in the spring, and obviously you can’t create them during the summer. We need to create some adversity and help them understand situational football a little better.
“I think they have a good conceptual understanding of what we’re asking them to do in all three phases. Now it’s about adjusting to the speed of the game against real people on a consistent basis. It’s also about getting back to the fundamentals, making sure we’re coaching things the right way and making sure they understand what we want. They need to play with the effort, mental toughness and physical toughness that we expect. Some of that will come when the pads go on and we find out what some of these guys are really about.
“It’s good to be out there for two hours a day in the heat and make guys sustain their performance and push through it. To me, it’s about finding out what people are made of and evaluating their mental toughness. We have to do a really good job during camp of putting them in those situations. We don’t want the first time adversity hits or a certain situation occurs to be against Louisville, when we’re not prepared for it.
“As a staff, we have to make sure we’re checking all those boxes throughout camp. Nothing should come up from a situational or planning standpoint that we haven’t already worked on. We also need to have a really good idea of who we have, what pieces we have and whether we’re using them effectively.”
On current state of the offensive line…
“When you’re talking about five offensive linemen, it’s kind of like a puzzle. Sometimes you can take one piece and move it somewhere else, but is that a perfect fit?
“Like I’ve said previously, Tommy (Davis) has flashed the ability to be an SEC player. We just want to see it more consistently. Fall camp will be good for him from a body standpoint. We still have to cut some of that weight down a little bit. I think he’s a little heavier than he needs to be right now to sustain his performance in this league.
“We’re just getting Kern back healthy. He had surgery in the spring. We obviously loved his ability on tape, along with the maturity component. But we haven’t been able to evaluate his consistency or whether we can trust him to do things the right way on a consistent basis because he hasn’t been healthy enough to do it. From a talent standpoint, you want those two guys to battle it out. Is it a rotation? What does that look like by the Louisville game?
“You also have guys like Kutas and some other players who have played a lot of football. You could move one of them outside, which would create other opportunities for players on the inside. For these first two weeks, let’s allow them to battle it out and leave them in the positions they’ve been playing. During the last two weeks, we’ll have the mock game week. Then, as we get closer to the game, it becomes real. Who can we really trust to play winning football? Who are the best five guys to run out there first? If an injury occurs, who do we move? We’ll constantly evaluate that throughout camp, but we have several options.”
On new Rebels meshing with returning Rebels…
“It’s funny you asked that. I was messing with Deuce between periods today. I asked him, ‘If you could pick one teammate—not based on ability, but just one teammate you want to be around and build a team around—who would it be?’ The guy he named is brand new. A lot of these guys who weren’t here last fall are really good dudes. Our players enjoy being around them because they’re like-minded.
“I know I keep saying this, but if they aren’t tough, competitive and don’t love football, we don’t recruit them. There are so many guys who have that same mindset and came here for the right reasons. They came here to help us get one game better. They know they weren’t part of last year’s legacy, and they want to help the guys who were here last year improve by one game.
“There are several guys who weren’t on our team last year who could be on the leadership council. What that council looks like right now and what it looks like at the end of the year won’t be the same. I think a lot of the players who will eventually be on it weren’t on last year’s team. I really like this class, both the portal guys and the high school players. Part of that is also because we have a really good nucleus of guys who came back. I like the blend. They enjoy being around each other, and they enjoy competing with each other. That’s awesome, and it makes my job a lot more fun.”
On confidence in players’ experience helping overcome adversity…
“Absolutely. You bring in players with experience hoping the moment, the game or the stage won’t be too big for them and cause their focus to shift toward something that doesn’t really matter. We have a lot of guys who have played in big games at big places. I don’t think there’s much anxiety about going into certain environments. Like I mentioned, a couple of years ago in ’23, guys were taking pictures of new stadiums. It was like, “What are we doing?” I don’t think we have any of that.
“But we need a greater sense of urgency when it comes to learning the playbook, communicating and paying attention to detail. That’s what we have to continue improving. This isn’t summer OTAs with player-run practices. You don’t get to say, “My bad.” The focus, attention to detail and effort have to be more consistent. We’re definitely not where we need to be. We have a lot of work to do, and that needs to pick up a little bit, in my opinion.”
On process for addressing performance anxiety…
In my opinion, every profession is the same. Guys get nervous and anxious when they aren’t prepared. When you’re prepared for an interview, a job or whatever it is, and you’ve worked your ass off and done everything you’re supposed to do, there are still nerves. But those nerves are based on excitement. It’s not the nervous feeling of, I don’t know what’s going to happen. What is it going to be like?’
The preparation component is on us. It’s our responsibility as coaches to prepare them the right way and put them in situations during practice so nothing comes up in a game that they haven’t prepared for. When you do that and make Monday through Friday much harder than Saturday, some of that anxiety is relieved. I’ve never met a true competitor with competitive character who talks about anxiety. I haven’t. I’m not talking badly about anything else, but it’s like, ‘No, go work your ass off. Practice really hard. Let’s prepare the right way, and let’s go play.’
If we don’t contest every play and don’t do what we’re supposed to do, we shouldn’t win. We probably won’t win in this league. But if you do what you’re supposed to do Monday through Friday, then when Saturday comes and it matters, you’re probably going to make the play you should because you did it Monday through Friday.
To me, it all goes back to preparation. Obviously, we use a lot of outside resources and things beyond X’s and O’s to help with that. I’m well aware of the times and everything that comes with them, and we use every resource we possibly can. But you also try to create as many competitive environments as possible. You put players in those situations, create one-on-one scenarios and bring them up in front of the team.
You start getting them to understand, ‘Look, dude, you’re going to get beat. You’re going to miss a tackle. You’re going to drop a ball. You’re going to throw a pick. It’s going to happen. The greatest players in the world have done it. How are you going to respond?’ Hopefully, we can continue to do that throughout camp.
On strength and conditioning coach Paul Constantine…
“You can start on paper. From a numbers standpoint, you look at where players were when they arrived, their explosive movements, their speeds and all the velocity-based training we do. You can look at the sheets and compare their January starting points to where they are now. It’s really impressive.
“But more importantly, you made a great point. I can look at a kid who weighed 202 pounds in January and now weighs 222, but that weight could have come from eating McDonald’s for the last eight months. What does that weight look like, and has it increased his performance?
“A lot of the guys we targeted as players who needed to gain weight to play winning football in this league have gained that weight. There were other guys who we felt didn’t have the top-end speed they needed to play winning football in this league, and now they do. When you combine those things, I think he and his staff have done an unbelievable job.
“On top of that, it’s always about what the players think. Players don’t always like the coaches who are really hard on them. But when they start seeing the results and appreciating the discipline and everything else that comes with it, that’s when you know you made the right hire. You can look at what’s on paper, but it’s not only about the numbers, the velocity-based training and the top-end speeds. I’m also thankful for the morale they’ve created in that room by being the people they are. I couldn’t be happier with the job he and his staff have done.”
On Kirk Herbstreit calling Trinidad Chambliss the face of college football…
“I hope he’s the face of college football at the end of the year. That’s the key to the deal with this game. Make sure people are still excited at the end of the year. Make sure you’re up for all these awards at the end of the year. All this stuff sounds really good right now, but all anybody is doing is talking. I was getting on Kyle’s ass. I was like, ‘Kyle, we just had a media day. It’s been like 10 days. What are we doing? We’ve had one practice.’ It’s time for people to stop talking. We need to make sure we’re putting in the work and doing the things we’re supposed to do to put ourselves in a position to be successful at the end of the year. I hope he’s right.”
