SOUTHEASTERN CONFERENCE FOOTBALL MEDIA DAYS

July 22, 2026

Will Echoles

Ole Miss Rebels

Press Conference

Q. With you being from Mississippi, why did you choose Ole Miss and how does that make the Egg Bowl any more important to you than any other player who is not from Mississippi?

WILL ECHOLES: I chose Ole Miss because of the connection I had with P.G. and Coach Randall Joyner, where I'm from, Houston, Mississippi. It's kind in the middle of Oxford and Starkville. And Houston's a bunch of State fans. I got a twin sister that goes to Ole Miss and a sister that graduated from Ole Miss. So I felt it was the right decision.

It means everything to play in the Egg Bowl because it's bragging rights, obviously. And we've been successful.

Q. Obviously team goals are at the top of your list. What individual goals, though, do you want to aspire to hit to get to those team goals?

WILL ECHOLES: Just leading the SEC, playing tackle for losses, sacks. I want to be one -- I want to win the Outland Trophy, that goes to the best defensive interior lineman in the country. Want to be All-SEC, All-American, just play my best.

Q. How do you think the defense is kind of adjusting without Princewill? And what do you think Ferrelli brings to you guys?

WILL ECHOLES: I feel like it's not a drop-off. Princewill leaving, I feel like we added a great addition to the team in Blake Purchase and Jonathan Maldonado to the jack room.

Ferrelli, he's a young guy, but he's very mature on the field. He's been a great addition to the linebacker room. I'm excited for him.

Q. What was it like being a defensive guy going up against Lane? And when you guys did have wins against him, did you make sure to rub it in a little extra?

WILL ECHOLES: Just practice in pads was always intense. Some days they got us, some days we got them. But just being able to -- Lane throws so much at you schematically wise, as far as what he runs, you never know. And then you got the tempo too. So just make plays, simple as that.

Q. It's a Saturday afternoon in Oxford. It's hot. It's humid. You're in the tunnel. You've been there before, but do you still get goosebumps?

WILL ECHOLES: I swear I do. When you're in the tunnel and you just see the fans going back and forth, that's probably the biggest thing. You see the fireworks go up, it's goosebumps. It's something you've dreamed about since you were a little kid.

Q. Looking at the Egg Bowl, what are you most excited about having it in Oxford and kind of getting it back on your home turf?

WILL ECHOLES: I feel like bowl plays are our home turf, honestly, because you know when you lose there -- it's gonna be fun. Playing them again it's always fun. I got a bunch of friends that chose Mississippi State while I was in high school. So it's always a fun game.

Q. The Trinidad jersey snatch, what was your kind of reaction to that? And, like you said, everyone's from there kind of Mississippi bled, but what was that reaction like?

WILL ECHOLES: That was so funny. I think Ken Crain -- you probably all know Ken Crain, a lot of people do -- kind of a legend at Ole Miss. But when we retrieved the jersey and brung it back after the game, it was fun, funny.

Q. Davis Wade is kind of your home turf, have you gotten used to the cowbells or is that still not a nice thing to play with?

WILL ECHOLES: Honestly, I never liked cowbells. But once you're on the field, you don't really hear them especially during our game because I don't really have a lead.

Q. Were there any notable differences in going through an offseason under Lane Kiffin and now under Coach Pete Golding?

WILL ECHOLES: Yeah, we brought in a new strength and conditioning staff, so the structure of how we did things was very different. I think it was better on our bodies, as far as the recovery part. No, Lane changed our schedule some to where we're off an extra day on the weekends to allow us to recover better.

Q. You came in as a mid-year, relatively young, you're still young going into your junior year. How have you had to mature quickly and still have an impact like you did last season?

WILL ECHOLES: I'm young, but I feel like I was very mature coming in as a freshman. I've got to lead by example, with me being a big-time player. With young guys coming in, I've got to set the example. I can't act like a young guy in the room no more. I've got to take on that role of calling people up, showing them by example.

Q. Earlier, Coach Golding was in here and he was asked about LSU, Lane Kiffin stuff. He compared it to an X. Is that how this team feels, like, just get over it and move on?

WILL ECHOLES: I guess you could say that. For me, I'd say it's like an X, honestly. But at the end of the day, LSU is a big-time game for me. So it's gonna be high on our attention.

Q. Everybody knows it's a war in the trenches, and I won't ask you what kind of talk that goes back and forth. But can you be a good football team and not be the most physical in the trenches?

WILL ECHOLES: No. Especially not in the SEC because if you can't run the ball or if you can't stop the run, you're going to have a long day. I feel like that's the most important part of the game. That's why I say games are won in the trenches.

Q. That third week there, how do you keep your focus on the game and the football with all the craziness that I'm sure is going to be around in that match-up?

WILL ECHOLES: LSU, that's just another opposition that's in our way of our main goal, just like any other SEC team we play. We're not trying to make the game too big. We know there's going to be tension outside of that, but we've got to go out there and execute.

Q. Personally, I thought Trinidad should have got a little more attention for the biggest investment, the Heisman Trophy. What have you seen out of Trinidad that shows, kind of guarantees you he's ready to take another big step in college football?

WILL ECHOLES: Y'all seen it first. But he can make any throw on the field. He's a threat with his legs. And honestly, I feel like if he started the first two games of our season last year, he would have had way better numbers than I think anybody in the country.

Q. Ole Miss's defense was ranked ninth in the SEC last season. What are you working on currently to help you be one of the more competitive teams on the defensive side this year?

WILL ECHOLES: Just getting better at every position. It's starts with up front. Sometimes in some parts of the season we didn't play very well in the front or in the back end. So we've added some guys from the portal so we can be better.

Q. You said Trinidad can make any throw on the field. We saw him do that at the Sugar Bowl. What makes Georgia so difficult or such a big competition for you guys this year?

WILL ECHOLES: Georgia, they're very big. They're one of the top dogs in the SEC. Never had a bad team. But you never know what they're going to give you, what you can get, with Kirby Smart being the head coach, whether it's a trick play or anything. So you've just got to prepare for anything.

Q. When you talk about culture at Ole Miss, you've got two guys named Manning that went there. Do they come back, and are you familiar with them? Do they come to practice?

WILL ECHOLES: Oh, yeah. During our playoff run, Archie came -- I'm sorry, I might be mistaken, but I think Archie came to speak to us -- I'm sorry if I am -- came to speak to us before our playoff run and he gave us some words of encouragement.

And Eli came back to the game, to a playoff game, I want to say, was in a skybox, just having them around game days and facility walking around. So I get a little star struck when I see him.