OXFORD – With four of the defensive linemen he sat behind and learned from poised to be selected in the upcoming NFL Draft, Kam Franklin knows he has big shoes to fill. But he feels like he and his teammates are ready to step up to the plate.
Franklin, a true sophomore, was a five-star recruit in the Rebels’ 2024 recruiting out of Lake Cormorant. As a freshman last season, Franklin played in seven games and racked up 2.5 sacks and 5 tackles-for-loss. The Rebels set school records with 52 sacks and 121.5 tackles-for-loss, the latter of which led the nation. Ole Miss had two players reach double-digit sacks in 2024 – Princely Umanmielen and Suntarine Perkins each had 10.5 – and six players had at least 3.5 sacks. Perkins is the only returner who reached that threshold last year, however, and Franklin’s sack total is second among all returning Rebels.
“I see myself just getting better,” Franklin said. “ … Learning from the other guys last year, like Jared Ivey and Princely, they played my position. Just taking the knowledge and ability that I already have and just putting it into my game going forward and leading into this season.”
While the likes of Ivey, Umanmielen, Walter Nolen and J.J. Pegues are hard to replace, the Rebels don’t lack for young talent. Their last few recruiting classes have been filled to the brim with defensive line talent – Perkins, sophomore William Echoles, redshirt freshman Jeffery Rush, redshirt sophomore Jamarious Brown, redshirt freshman Kamron Beavers and freshman Andrew Maddox are among the highly-touted pieces the Rebels have added in recent classes. And, as has been the case under head coach Lane Kiffin, the transfer portal was also used to help fill the void. The Rebels added former Nebraska defensive lineman – and brother of Princely – Princewill Umanmielen and former five-star LSU signee Da’Shawn Womack. Ole Miss also return seniors Zxavian Harris and Abel Stone.
“Everything right now is competition,” Franklin said. “We’re all playing together, we all know the end game to this. So, pretty much all of us (are) just coming in, everybody (is) hungry. No matter who is in the starting position, second string, whatever. We’re all on the same type of timing right now.”
Franklin said Echoles, who was in the 2024 class with him, has embraced a role as a leader this offseason.
“William Echoles, he (is) going to be a force,” Franklin said. “ … He really took a step into a leadership role. I think he (is) going to be a great player, for sure. He (is) going to be a key piece to our D-line.”
