The Grove Report

Ole Miss Dominates First-Ever Transfer Portal Open Window Period

The Rebels made the most of the first NCAA Transfer Portal window.

Ben King

OXFORD, Miss. -- The first-ever transfer portal open window period began on Dec. 5, and ended last Wednesday, Jan. 18. With the first window of the offseason closed, players are now only allowed to enter their names in the portal if they are grad students.

There will be another portal window open from May 1 through May 15.

The Ole Miss Rebels and coach Lane Kiffin attacked the first window and wound up with 14 total transfers by the time the period ended last week. On3Sports released rankings on Tuesday of the six biggest winners from the first open window period, and Ole Miss came in at No. 6.

Here is the breakdown On3 gave for the Rebels.

Total transfers: 14
The headliners: WR Chris Marshall (Texas A&M), TE Caden Prieskorn (Memphis), QB Spencer Sanders (Oklahoma State)
More important than you’d think: CB DeShawn Gaddie (North Texas)
The buzz: Ole Miss isn’t going to win the SEC West in 2023, but the portal newcomers should help the Rebels contend for a top-three division finish. With six commitments, Kiffin and his staff were especially busy in the final week of the open window period. The biggest was Sanders, a four-year starter at Oklahoma State. He will vie with holdover starter Jaxson Dart during the spring. There’s also LSU transfer QB Walker Howard, but that looks to be more of a long-term play. It’s hard not to see one of the three hitting the portal after the spring. It seems likely to be Dart. Marshall is talented but had off-field issues at A&M; he has a high ceiling. It may take him a while to truly make his mark, but Prieskorn and Louisiana Tech transfer WR Tre Harris should help right away. Gaddie was a three-year starter at North Texas, at both corner and safety. He had 13 pass breakups (tied for 13th nationally) in 2022 at corner.

During the first window, Ole Miss brought competition to its quarterback room, restocked its secondary with rangy veterans, and added a handful of talented offensive weapons.

The Portal King is living up to his moniker for the second year in a row and shows no sign of slowing down.

You can follow Ben King on Twitter at @BKing_2023.

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Ben King
BEN KING

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