OXFORD — Pete Golding is only made available to media once per season, but as usual, the Ole Miss defensive coordinator delivered.

Golding, the colorful former Alabama defensive coordinator, referred to the potential “shit show” of helmet communications and warned their were certain ways teams could get could get their “ass beat.”

Golding also talked about entering Year No. 2 at Ole Miss, the Rebels’ renovated defensive line, position versatility and much more in almost 20 minutes with the local media.

Golding discussed the need to simplify things in this era of college football, one dominated by the transfer portal and mass turnover on a year to year basis.

“Every year I think you're going to have a new defense and offense to a certain degree,” Golding said. “So I think that's helped us try to simplify some things to where when you're getting guys that are coming in here for one season or one year, they can adapt, learn the system and play fast and contribute and play winning football.

“But obviously for the returners, I mean, there's that comfort zone to where now we can actually focus on the techniques of things and understanding pattern matches and split variations of backfield sets and you can become a smarter football player. So for those older guys, we're really not coaching defense anymore because they understand it. We're coaching offense and anticipation of what they're going to get and all those things.

“But I think where the game's at now and the portal and taking guys the way we do, I think you got to do a good job of keeping it simple and letting those guys go to lineup, play fast, get the cleats in the turf.”

Golding is working with a renovated defense, one that features multiple Southeastern Conference veterans who transferred to Ole Miss following the 2023 season. The Rebels emphasized size and length on the recruiting trail, though Golding said he also wanted players who had played in SEC venues and in big games.

“I think recruiting takes a village and I think everybody did a good job to get us a really good room up front,” Golding said. “I think (Ole Miss defensive line) Coach (Randall) Joyner does a really good job with those guys, but from a link standpoint and power and I think not being able to get moved at a double team, I think we've got gotten a lot more of those guys and I think the biggest thing to me from the Georgia game last year was size and power and all that, but for the moment not being too big, you know. think, you know, that's a top-10 matchup at that point, playoff ramifications.

“And we got a lot of guys that have never been in that spot, you know, and looking back, I don't feel like I did a good job with the defense. I didn't think about, like, that was just the next game for me. We've been tons of those (during his tenure at Alabama), right? But for them, I felt like that moment kind of got too big. And I thought that was the big emphasis of taking guys from the SEC, from programs that have been at big time venues and stadiums and games to where they realized it's just another game.”

Golding was asked to elaborate on what “the moment being too big” looked like from his perspective.

“I think if you look at last year, I don't always think we were the better football team, the more talented football team, but I think when you watch the tape, like, there's grit, determination,” Golding said. “They played their ass off. They played hard. It wasn't always right, wasn't always doing the right thing, but that game, I just felt like we got really flustered.

“Obviously winning 11 games last year, you know, going and playing in the Peach Bowl, which is a big venue, versus Penn State, the more of those you start stacking, you know? But I think when you're trying to change the culture of a side of the ball, it takes a little bit of time.”

A year ago, Ole Miss’ defense improved as the season progressed. A year later, thanks to the aforementioned additions, Golding believes he has the talent to do more this fall.

“I think obviously it starts up front, I think, at every level, especially in this league, you know, so, No. 1, I think we got the pieces on base down and third down that we can move around and be effective and try to stop the run and affect the quarterback,” Golding said. “And then I think the next piece is always, like, side speed in the back end. In this league, I think you have to have the ability to play man to man. I think the guys that we brought in from the outside added to that room already.

“I think it's going to give us some flexibility, right, to be able to play man to man and deny the ball. And I think that's very important in this league, and I think there are a lot of veteran guys in that room that allow you to be a little more multiple.”

On headset communication:

“You can't let them know what you're in every snap, you know? And they're talking to this quarterback until 15 seconds. So they got to have a lot of checks and adjustments within the call, so, you know, they don't know your hand every snap. And so I think having a veteran group allows you to do that.

“But when it's going fast and to settle them down, when you know you're fast enough and long enough to play man to man versus good players, that's a safety net, and I think the best thing for our guys, we go against the best guys in the country every day, you know? So hopefully, there ain't gonna be too many Saturdays that wide receiver group's better than ours, you know? So I think there's gonna be a lot of confidence going in the game to do that.”

I think it's really big defensively as well. I think more from a kill progression when they're changing plays to where it used to be when there was no helmet communication, the quarterback would have to look to the sidelines. So as long as he could look, they could, our guys could look. But now the quarterback's never going to look right because they're telling them. So they're going to have the availability to snap the ball at any moment, right. So then now that (middle linebacker) is going to be our quarterback, he's never going to look either.

So he's got to be able to trigger to get us in and out of certain things, just like they do. We got the same communication they are. So we got to do a good job stemming in disguise of different things, making the same things look different, different things look the same but have the ability to kill. And I think the mics can allow us to do that.

“And then I think it's big in the run game because now up until 15 seconds of the ball snap, I can help him. So then there's a lot of tells in the run game that you normally had to put on players based on y-location and backfield sets and certain fronts you want to get in. Well, now I can just call it. …I think for the front six, I think it can really improve in the run game of setting fronts and using run tools and then getting in and out of certain things without having to look to a sideline.”

On who will wear the helmet with the communication equipment:

“Obviously, there can only be one on the field at a time and obviously, a lot of the linebacker rooms are on all special teams, so a lot of them are on the same special teams. So, like that piece of it, you'll see a rack on the sideline. They're going to have to get in and out of that at certain times we live in the game, which is its own shit show.

“We got to be smart with that. I mean, I think right now we've alternated every one of them in practice just so obviously all of them are working on it and getting used to it because at any point, whether an injury or something happens, all of them could do it. So we're just going day by day right now.

On Princely Umanmielen:

“Obviously I think he's an elite pass rusher and I think in this league you got to have somebody that they're worried about, you know, and I think that could dictate protection plans and you know they're going to chip them. They're going to account for them so you can use them different ways and obviously move him around.

“So, No. 1, I think when you got an elite rusher, I think it just adds value, obviously. And then his versatility to be able to drop at certain times to just change the picture. I think that's the biggest thing now is we got to take the game out of the offensive coordinator's hand. And the quarterback's got to figure out after ball snaps. In order to do that, you got to drop some guys that ain't supposed to drop. You got to bring some guys that aren't supposed to come.

“So again, it's nothing that he's going to major in, but he is athletic enough and he's got a high football IQ to understand, ‘Hey, where am I going What do I have to do?’ He's very athletic and it gives you flexibility to do it. You're not going to live in that life, but you got the ability to put it on tape.”

On Suntarine Perkins moving to defensive end:

“No. 1 is his athletic ability and get-off, and we move that guy around a lot, and so they got to always be able to account for where he's at. That's a flexible position for us. What I mean, he's a rusher and a dropper because he's athletic enough to be a money backer, so they can't always count on that guy coming.

“And so we do a lot of things to pull to him and then pressure away and certain things like that because he's athletic enough to play certain coverages. Obviously, we're not going to play man with him, but we're going to put him in some drop scenarios. So his versatility as a player really allows him to be really well at that spot. But I think you're going to see about a lot of different positions.

“I think last year, obviously, coming in as an 18-year-old freshman in this league and have to learn a new system, you know, you had to try to simplify it as much as possible, and that position only allows you to do that. You either going to rush, you're the hook player, or you got this. Here's your three things, and let's go play ball. But now he knows it inside and out of that position, so he's going to allow us to have some flexibility to move him around based on who we play. So he's done a really nice job in his first year learning, processing the scheme because the athletic ability and the want to has always been there. And so I think there's going to be a more comfortable player that you're going to see on tape that's going to play with more confidence.

On freshmen who could play early:

“I was really excited about this freshman class. We got a lot of them at the break. Kim 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 could be a really dominant player at this level. How much that is this year, we'll see. Definitely he can have a role and have the ability to help us.

“I think TJ Banks has really flashed. He's a long corner out of (Tuscaloosa, Ala.) Hillcrest. He's a size-speed guy. He's really instinctive. He's played corner, and he's pumped inside to play nickel and dime on third down. Off the top, I mean, those three for sure have really stood out, but we're really excited about that class.

Kamron Beavers is flashing. Jeffrey Rush is finally healthy, right, and showing some good things. So we got a lot of guys in that group.

On Walter Nolen:

“When I watch him initially, he reminds me of when we had Quinnen Williams at Alabama. I mean, he's got an elite twitch inside. He's very heavy handed, especially at his size. So to me, he gives you based out flexibility to move to either zero, the two, the three, the four, the five, and then on third down, he's got enough juice that you're not taking him off the field. So I think he's got a lot of position flex.

“I think he can be an elite pass rusher inside, but I think he's very very, very valuable in the run game. So he's a three-down player for us that's played in this league and has continued to mature, grow up and do things the right way. So we've been really pleased with where he's at.”

On simplifying the defense:

“Regardless what you do on defense, it ain't gonna be easy, you know, so then even more, like, you had to shrink it back. And there's a fine line in this league. Like, if you're not better than the opposing team and they know what you're in, you're gonna get your ass beat, you know? So there's a fine line, right, trying to find ways to win football games when you're not always the most talented team.

“And in order to do that, sometimes you gotta have the chalk last, and it's not gonna be perfect, and you're gonna put some things on, but if not, you're gonna get your ass beat, you know? So we came here to win, so we're gonna do whatever it takes to win. But that's week to week, and we gotta do a good job with who do we have, identify a role, what can they do, put them in that situation. …And that's where I think we've got a bigger pool, right, to get 28 to 30 guys that can play winning football in the can do category, identify their role, have them a package and play winning football.”