OXFORD | Da’Shawn Womack first met Randall Joyner when he was a prospect coming out of St. Frances Academy in Baltimore, Maryland.

Joyner, the Ole Miss defensive line coach, was one of the first to offer Womack, and while the defensive end chose LSU as his first stop following high school, the reputation meant enough for the Rebels to land the 6-foot-5, 260-pounder out of the transfer portal.

“Ole Miss was one of my first offers, and Coach Joyner has been recruiting me ever since then and always been on the hunt for me to come to Ole Miss and play for him,” Womack said. “The relationship we had, and I said I’m going to come play for Joyner and be at the No. 1 defensive school.”

The Rebels had one of the top defensive lines nationally in 2024, as Ole Miss finished second nationally in sacks per game and first in tackles for loss. That group is now without Walter Nolen, Princely Umanmielen, JJ Pegues and Jared Ivey, but there’s depth and a collection of reinforcements.

“We are disruptors,” Womack said. “We are getting a bond together and learning each other and how to play with each other and go be dominant together.”

Womack played two seasons at LSU. In 2023, Womack recorded 15 tackles, 1.5 quarterback sacks and a fumble recovery. In 2024, Womack had eight tackles and a sack for the Tigers. He had a half sack in LSU wins over South Alabama and Ole Miss in the first half of the season. He didn’t play following October 19.

Ole Miss is counting on further development for Womack, who flashed in deeper stats despite the lack of tackles and sacks. He pressured the quarterback on 13 of his 64 pass rush snaps – 20 percent. By comparison, here are top Ole Miss rushers last season in percentage of pass rush pressures: Umanmielen (18 percent), Suntarine Perkins (17 percent) and Ivey (11 percent).

Womack had an overall win percentage, per PFF, of 17.7 percent. That would have ranked second for the Rebels behind Umanmielen’s 20.6 percent.

“(Joyner) is on my tail and wants me to play fast, physical and relentless,” Womack said.

Womack is joined on the Rebels by former Tigers Logan Diggs and Sage Ryan. He’s also roomates with Nebraska transfer Princewell Umanmielen.

“I think it’s a pretty cool thing,” Womack said. “I have people on the team I knew previously. Great to see those guys out here with me. My guy P-Will, we’ve been tight since I got here. He’s my room dog.”