Which Ole Miss freshmen are impressing at the midway point of preseason camp?

The Ole Miss football roster is loaded with talent for the 2024 season. There is no denying this and it also makes it difficult to see if any younger players can break through a depth chart full of veteran experience.

Preseason camp has hit the midway point for the Rebels and after two weeks of practice watching there is some evidence that a few freshmen might be able to make an impact this year.

Another top transfer class highlighted the offseason for Lane Kiffin but he also managed to bring in another talented high school class that features some top players from Mississippi for a second straight year.

One of those is another top wide receiver high school standout from the Magnolia state. St. Martin School’s Noreel White is starting to turn heads in camp with his play and effort in position drills. White is not seeing a lot of reps in the good on good drills in the limited viewing windows media is alotted, but he is showing off his skill set in individual drills.

A few times this camp White has made impressive catches on back corner passes.

“Noreel is definitely a very special player,” receiver Cayden Lee said. “A young player. He has amazing hands. Very physical. His strength is unmatched so he’s hard to cover because he’s very physical with the DBs. I feel like if he just continues the path that he’s on, sooner or later he’s going to find his spot.”

The Ole Miss wide receivers room is extremely deep with Tre Harris, Jordan Watkins, Juice Wells, Ayden Williams and Lee all ahead of White. Then there is the anticipation of Deion Smith joining the ranks once he eventually clears his academic eligibility hurdles.

Though it seems White is trending the way Lee and Williams did during their freshman seasons last year and will force the issue to see the field some. With the ability to play in four games before burning a redshirt it is very possible he gets a lot of playing time in the first month with the non-conference games.

A major part of the high school recruiting class success Ole Miss enjoyed was due to a big haul at defensive line.

Kam Franklin and William Echoles, two more Mississippi products, have already made the positive impression on defensive coordinator Pete Golding.

Franklin, from Lake Cormorant High School, and Echoles, from Houston High School, are in the same situation as White; having to wade through a position room that is top-heavy with veteran exprience.

Jared Ivey, JJ Pegues, Walter Nolen and Princely Umanmielen headline the room, along with Zxavian Harris. But there is more of an opportunity for Franklin and Echoles to work their way into the two-deep chart come start of the regular season.

Each have made the most of Spring drills and now Fall camp.

“I was real excited about this freshman class. We got a lot of them at the break,” Golding said last week. “Kam Franklin had a really good Spring. We’re really excited about where he’s at. I think Will Echoles is exactly who we thought he was. I think he can be a really dominant at this level. How much that is this year, we’ll see. But again, definitely he can have a role and have the ability to help us.”

Golding is also impressed with the work cornerback TJ Banks has put in. The Tuscaloosa, Alabama native is making waves in the secondary room, which is another position on the defense that spots on the two-deep are up for grabs behind veterans.

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