5-star transfer portal asset already done at Ole Miss

Chris Marshall has been dismissed from the Ole Miss football program after only five months.

The Ole Miss Rebels’ receiving corps took a huge hit over the weekend, as former Texas A&M transfer Chris Marshall was dismissed from the team for violating team rules on Saturday.

There is so much to unpack here, but I think we have to start with the fact Marshall was only in Oxford for five months. Transferring in-division still leaves a bitter taste in the mouths of even the most progressive college football fans. For Marshall’s tenure at Ole Miss to last less than two quarters certainly raises a few eyebrows. Regardless, they have a void to fill at a major position.

Marshall being out is something nobody expected to see at this stage of the college offseason.

Keep in mind that Ole Miss has to replace key contributors in its receiving corps, none more so than new Carolina Panthers wideout Jonathan Mingo.

Former Texas A&M wide receiver Chris Marshall is already done at Ole Miss

Another interesting wrinkle in all this is Ole Miss head coach Lane Kiffin kind of used Marshall as an example to dig at the wide receiver’s former head coach in Texas A&M’s Jimbo Fisher. To say that Marshall played at pretty much a molasses-inspired pace in College Station was definitely a cheap shot at Fisher. However, Kiffin will need to find a replacement in the transfer portal fast.

The good news for Kiffin is that he runs a fun offense that puts its best players in space. Ole Miss has emerged as a top-20 program in the country under his watch. While the Rebels are probably never getting to Atlanta under his guidance, they can win 10 games a year and play in New Year’s Six bowls. In two years, that means Ole Miss could make it to its first-ever College Football Playoff.

I don’t know if the Rebels are a regression candidate in the SEC this year, but I don’t anticipate Auburn being down forever. The SEC West will probably be decided by whoever wins between Alabama and LSU, while the East will almost certainly come down to the late-season affair in Knoxville between Georgia and Tennessee. Ole Miss should be good again, but this move hurts.

Let’s keep an eye on where Marshall could end up, as well as who could replace him in Oxford.