OXFORD | Ole Miss
will be getting the boost it was expecting to get along its defense with the 2026 season just around the corner.
After missing all of spring camp due to what was described as a 'lower-body injury', defensive end transfer Jordan Renaud has been cleared to return to practice with the team. During the Rebels' first day of preseason camp in Oxford on Thursday the 6-foot-3, 265-pound Alabama transfer was seen on the field, without an injury designated jersey, for the first time as a Rebel between spring and summer.
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Florida State transfer safety Edwin Joseph
was also practicing for the first time, after missing all of spring camp.
At the time of the Rebels' pursuit of Renaud and Joseph, Ole Miss
was well-aware of the pre-existing injuries the transfers would be arriving in Oxford with.
"It was really good to get some of those guys that weren't able to go through spring in a competetive period, back out there and really see if they are who we thought they are. Those two have the ability to be really good players," head coach Pete Golding said of Renaud and Joseph. "Really impressed with the summer that Edwin has had...I think Jordan has gotten a lot better in the weight room. Obviously had the surgery and then had a really good summer. I think he gives us a different presence on the edge...I was really excited to see both of them have pretty good days of being healthy."
Ole Miss signing Joseph was one of the splash moves the Rebels made this offseason. At Florida State in the last two seasons Joesph notched 50 tackles, six pass breakups, four interceptions, one forced fumble and 1.5 sacks.
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In three seasons with the Tide in Tuscaloosa, Renaud notched 34 tackles and 0.5 sacks. In Renaud's third season with Alabama he was a regular contributor along the defensive line, appearing in all 15 games while making three starts. He finished his junior campaign with 16 tackles and 1.5 tackles for loss, where most of his production came through Alabama's two-game run in the College Football Playoffs.
During his recruitment as a transfer prospect, Renaud was a consensus top-23 defensive lineman in this year's pool of portal players. Ole Miss brought Renaud in to add more potential to a front that will feature Will Echoles
, Michai Boireau, Kam Franklin
, Blake Purchase, Jonathan Maldonado and Jeheim Oatis
.
Ole Miss struggled to defend the run for much of the 2025 season and notched 20 less sacks than it did in the season prior, so the Rebels are banking on getting improved production from their defensive line this fall.
As a high school recruit, Renaud signed with the Crimson Tide as a top-15 defensive lineman in the 2023 Recruiting Cycle over programs such as the Texas Longhorns
, Oklahoma Sooners
, TCU Horned Frogs
and Texas A&M Aggies
among several others.
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As for the rest of Thursday's practice from Oxford, there wasn't much else for the media to see in the program's opening day of fall camp. Viewing access was limited to roughly 10 minutes of punt team coverage, as well as individual and position group conditioning work.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com/college/olemiss as Key Ole Miss Defenders Jordan Renaud, Edwin Joseph Return to Practice In Fall Camp
.
