Rebels' S/LB Ladarius Tennison Plans To Enter NCAA Transfer Portal

The Ole Miss Rebels lost another player to the NCAA Transfer Portal on Friday.

OXFORD, Miss. -- The NCAA Transfer Portal giveth, and it taketh away.

The Ole Miss Rebels were on the receiving end of portal once the 2023 regular season ended as the program landed some of the top players available in December, but what goes around eventually comes around. Ole Miss hybrid safety/linebacker Ladarius Tennison announced his intentions to transfer on Friday, a day after the Rebels lost running backs Quinshon Judkins and Jam Griffin to the portal.

Tennison made his announcement via social media with a thank you to Rebel Nation.

Carleigh Holt @The Grove Report

"I would like to thank the University of Mississippi for the two good years, but after discussing my future with my family I'm going to enter my name into the transfer portal. Go Rebs." -- Tennison via X (formerly Twitter).

The Rockledge, Fla., native was a four-star safety in the Auburn Tigers' 2020 recruitment class and spent two years on The Plains before transferring to Ole Miss for another two seasons. In 26 career games with the Rebels, Tennison registered 94 total tackles, 13.5 tackles for loss, 2.5 sacks, two passes deflected, and one touchdown.

Tennison found his own niche in Oxford, as the 5-foot-9, 200-pound defender became a hybrid chess piece on the Ole Miss defense. Under defensive coordinator Pete Golding, Tennison started to get more reps at linebacker and quickly got comfortable in the rotation.

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Replacing a player as versatile and physical as Tennison is no easy task, but fortunately for the Rebels, his replacement has already been found. Enter former Tennessee Volunteers hybrid defender Tamarion McDonald, who played the STAR position, meaning he would lineup at safety or linebacker. McDonald entered the portal following the 2023 regular season and announced his commitment to Ole Miss in December. 

In four seasons with the Volunteers, McDonald racked up 115 tackles, 8.5 TFLs, one sack, four interceptions, 12 pass breakups, and one fumble recovery.