Two days after its loss to Miami in the College Football Playoffs, Ole Miss has lost its first starter to the transfer portal. The Rebels will proceed in the offseason without linebacker Jaden Yates, who will seek his third school in as many years.
Yates just wrapped up his junior season, which was his first at Ole Miss, with 55 tackles and 0.5 sacks. He has since decided to enter the transfer portal with a no-contact tag, On3 Sports' Pete Nakos reported.
Yates began his career with Marshall, with whom he spent his first two years. He broke through with the Thundering Herd in 2024 and led the team with 115 tackles, 7.5 tackles for loss, one sack and two pass breakups to earn first-team All-Sun Belt honors. Yates was also a Phil Steele honorable mention All-American and entered the 2025 transfer portal as one of the top linebackers on the market.
The hype had Yates entering 2025 as a preseason All-SEC linebacker, with some even tabbing him as a dark horse All-American. However, he struggled to adjust to Pete Golding's 3-4 defense, ending the year seventh in tackles while occasionally losing snaps to Missouri State transfer Tahj Chambers.
Yates now enters the portal for the second consecutive offseason, both following coaching changes. His former head coach at Marshall, Charles Huff, left after the 2024 season and is now the head coach at Memphis. The Tigers are in play for his next team, along with LSU, due to his clear connection to Lane Kiffin.
Yates' loss hurts, but Ole Miss' defense is still in good shape entering the offseason. Star linebacker Suntarine Perkins and defensive tackle Will Echoles already confirmed their returns in 2026, along with starting cornerback Antonio Kite.
The Rebels are also expecting All-American running back Kewan Lacy to return, in addition to center Brycen Sanders. However, they are likely to be without quarterback Trinidad Chambliss, whose waiver for a sixth year of eligibility was denied by the NCAA.
