Report: Ole Miss LB Jacquez Jones to enter transfer portal

Ole Miss will need to take a big step on defense in 2021 to keep improving under coach Lane Kiffin, as the offense is already elite. That task became a lot more difficult as of Tuesday, as Matt Zenitz of AL.com reported that starting linebacker Jacquez Jones intends to enter the NCAA transfer portal. Jones made 75 tackles in nine games to lead Ole Miss last season, and he was the team's second-leading tackler as well back in 2019.

Jones made four tackles and added a sack in Ole Miss' spring game and was expected to be one of the defense's leaders this coming fall. He was a 3-star recruit out of Tuscaloosa (Ala.) Hillcrest in the 2018 class.

"I feel like we did a great job on both sides," Jones said after the Rebels' spring game. "It was kind of a one-sided affair with the spring game, but at the end of the day and through the whole spring, I feel like the defense made a major step. The Blue squad took it today, but I feel like the Red squad, we did good. I feel like we've taken a major step. We've got to keep on improving during the summer."

"... We weren't that good last year, and we're not afraid to say it," Jones added. "But this year we're going to be definitely turning a lot of heads."

David Johnson of OMSpirit ranked Jones as the Rebels' ninth-most important player for the 2021 season back in January.

"Jones is the best linebacker on the Ole Miss roster, as evidenced by his team-leading 75 tackles last season," Johnson wrote. "He is a smart and heady player that is rarely out of position. He owns all the tools to become the leader of the unit on and off the field."

The NCAA introduced the portal on Oct. 15, 2018, providing athletes a path to explore their options. Players do not need to ask permission from their coaching staff in order to transfer. They merely need to request that compliance enter their name. Usually, it takes 24-48 hours for a player to appear following their request. Schools are free to contact a player without restriction once their name appears in the portal.

While a player entering their name in the transfer portal means they intend to explore their options, it does not necessarily mean they will leave. A player is free to withdraw his name at any time. However, schools are under no obligation to keep a player on scholarship once they enter the portal.

The first portal cycle saw 1,942 FBS players enter in the initial calendar year of its existence, per a source.

This story will be updated

SOURCE: Weinstein, Robbie. "Report: Ole Miss LB Jacquez Jones to enter transfer portal." 247Sports.com, 1 June 2021, https://247sports.com/Article/Ole-Miss-football-Jacquez-Jones-transfer-to-enter-portal-SEC-Lane-Kiffin-165989774/