Earlier this week, Jameer Lewis picked up his first offer when Ole Miss let him know it viewed him as a future piece of the Rebels’ defense.

A day later, things escalated quickly.

Lewis, a 6-foot-3, 235-pound linebacker from Southwest Mississippi Community College, got a text from new Ole Miss defensive coordinator Pete Golding.

“He said that I was a qualifier,” Lewis said.

Later that day, Golding called.

“He explained that they looked into my transcript and (saw) that I can leave and that I could be enrolled into school by Friday so I can start working with the team in the spring,” Lewis said.

Lewis said Golding told him the Rebels, who entered the offseason very short on linebackers, are switching to the 3-4 scheme he operated at Alabama. He said the Rebels want to put him at the Jack linebacker (strong-side outside linebacker) position.

Lewis, a McComb, Miss., native has four years of eligibility, including three on the field.