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By Rowan Fisher-Shotton
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Ole Miss is coming off a historic 2025 campaign that included the program’s first-ever 13-win season and a quarterfinal victory over No. 3 Georgia (39–34) in the Allstate Sugar Bowl, sending the Rebels to the expanded College Football Playoff semifinals.
Unfortunately, that postseason run ended in the Fiesta Bowl on Jan. 8, where Ole Miss suffered a 31–27 loss to Miami in the CFP semifinal, closing out a landmark season while propelling the Hurricanes to the national championship game.
Now, Oxford has been dealt another blow, as Ole Miss true-freshman interior offensive lineman Devin Harper has committed to LSU via the college football transfer portal.
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Harper (6'4", 315) was a consensus four-star recruit in the 2025 cycle and ranked among the nation’s top offensive line prospects across all major services.
He was rated as high as No. 5 nationally by On3, considered a top-10 prospect in the state of Louisiana by ESPN, Rivals, 247Sports, and On3, and ranked as high as No. 3 in the state by 247Sports.
Despite his pedigree, Harper saw limited action as a true freshman at Ole Miss before electing to enter the transfer portal.
More news: LSU Freshman Earns Major College Football Honor After Committing to Lane Kiffin
More news: Joel Klatt Warns CFP: Transfer Portal Could ‘Spell Doom’ for College Football
Lane Kiffin was formally hired by LSU on November 30, leaving Ole Miss just before the Rebels’ postseason run.
Despite the fallout from his pre-playoff departure, Kiffin remains one of the most successful coaches in Ole Miss history, compiling a 55–19 overall record across six seasons.
His tenure included three consecutive double-digit win seasons, a first for the program.
LSU’s contract for Kiffin was reported as a seven-year, $91 million deal to bring him to Baton Rouge, and the hire immediately triggered a wave of transfer-portal activity involving both programs.
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Besides Harper, LSU has already added Ole Miss wide receiver Winston Watkins Jr., who entered the transfer portal and committed to LSU during the same transfer window.
A former four-star recruit and 247Sports’ No. 31 wide receiver in the 2025 class, Watkins recorded 26 receptions for 373 yards and one touchdown as a true freshman and was expected to play a significant role in Ole Miss’s offense moving forward.
While Watkins and Harper are currently the only Ole Miss players who have officially transferred to LSU, several others, including running back Kewan Lacy, wide receiver Deuce Alexander, and quarterback Trinidad Chambliss, have been linked to potential portal moves in the weeks following Kiffin’s departure.
Regardless of whether additional players ultimately follow Kiffin to Baton Rouge, the situation underscores how coaching changes late in the season can immediately impact roster continuity, with the transfer portal enabling rapid, real-time roster reshaping across the SEC.
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