Transfer DB Justin Hodges Commits to Ole Miss

The Ole Miss Rebels landed their second transfer commitment of the day on Thursday, with UCF defensive back, Justin Hodges.

Matt Galatzan | May 25, 2023

The 'Portal King' is at it again.

On Thursday night, Ole Miss Rebels head coach Lane Kiffin landed his second commitment from the NCAA Transfer Portal of the day, with Central Florida defensive back Justin Hodges pledging to the program.

Hodges now becomes the 10th transfer commitment for the Rebels since January, as well as the fourth defensive back, alongside their other Thursday commitment Jadon Canady, Georgia Tech transfer Zamari Walton, and North Texas transfer DeShawn Gaddie.

In three seasons at UCF, Hodges played in 26 games, including 14 last season. Over those three seasons, he tallied 78 tackles (52 solo), 6.5 tackles for loss, three sacks, two interceptions, two fumble recoveries and 16 passes defended.

Hodges' commitment is a big one for the Rebels, as it lends them another body to replace the loss of Davison Igbinosun, who transferred to Ohio State earlier this spring, as well as Tysheem Johnson, who transferred to Oregon.

The Rebels also have commitments from eight other commitments on the defense side of the ball, including Louisville transfer Monty Montgomery, edge rusher Isaac Ukwu from James Madison, former Nebraska defensive lineman Stephon Wynn, and ex-Georgia Tech defensive lineman, Akelo Stone.

And given the way that Kiffin utilizes the portal, they may not be done just yet.

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Published May 25, 2023

MATT GALATZAN

Matt Galatzan the Editor-In-Chief of TheGroveReport.com. Galatzan graduated from the University of Mississippi, where he studied integrated marketing communications, with minors in journalism and business administration. Galatzan started in the sports journalism industry under Mike Fisher at DallasBasketball.com in 2014, which at the time was part of the 247Sports network. He also spent two years covering the SMU Mustangs for PonyStampede.com on the 247Sports network. When DallasBasketball.com and CowboysCountry.com moved over to Sports Illustrated's Fan Nation network in 2020, Galatzan followed suit, eventually being taking over as the Managing Editor and Publisher of LonghornsCountry.com and AllAggies.com a year later. Through the years, Galatzan has conducted a handful of high-profile one-on-one interviews to add to his resume — in both writing and podcasting. Some of his biggest interviews have been with Mavs owner Mark Cuban, former Longhorns players Dan Neil and Phil Dawson, and many other recruits, and current/former players for each of the teams he has covered. Galatzan is also a full-time employee in the digital media department for Audacy and KRLD FM's 105.3 The Fan in Dallas, which is the official radio home of the Dallas Cowboys. You can find Galatzan on all major social media channels.