‘This team’s electric’: Go, Diego (Pounds), Go! From UNC to Ole Miss and on to the Ivey League
Diego Pounds wanted to prove himself.
No disrespect to North Carolina and the ACC, but Ole Miss and the SEC represented a different level of proving ground. His decision was simple once he hopped into the NCAA Transfer Portal over the winter.
No other Power 5 program(s) (or their dozens of offers) stood a chance.
But don’t just take our word for it. Hear all the details from Pounds himself in his stop this week by the ‘Ivey League’ — a podcast exclusively in association with the Ole Miss Spirit (join today for just $1!), and powered by RiverLand Roofing.
“I hit the portal, and once it went live, I got calls from everybody,” Pounds said. “Like, a lot of top schools in the country. But I watched y’all play in the (Peach Bowl), and I was like, ‘Dude, this team’s electric.’ And I’d seen The Season on YouTube. I’d seen how y’all’d bonded (and) how much fun y’all have.
“Ole Miss, everybody’s talking about it right now. ‘Cause y’all are getting all these players out of the portal. So, as soon as I hit the portal and I realized I had an opportunity to come here? And with (Ole Miss offensive line) coach (John) Garrison being here? Coach Garrison recruited me out of high school at NC State. Me and him had a really good connection; he had a (NFL) first-rounder under him at NC State.
“It was kind of a no-brainer.”
Pounds, unfortunately, hasn’t yet hit the field as an Ole Miss Rebel.
Ole Miss opened spring practices on Wednesday. Pounds, however, is currently out after undergoing a minor knee clean-up, as first-reported by the Ole Miss Spirit’s Chuck Rounsaville.
“It’s been a grind. I’ve been hard on myself about it, ‘cause I really want to be back and playing,” Pounds said. “I didn’t come here to just mess around. I’ve been working with the strength staff and the training staff trying to get back.
“I started running a little bit this past week. Getting more confidence in it. It was my meniscus. I just had a little clean-up on it. I’m trying to trust it again, ‘cause when you don’t trust it …”
“Yeah, you could be 100 percent back and just kind of have the mental block,” third-year Ole Miss star defender, and ‘Ivey League’ host, Jared Ivey, added.
“(Former Rebel EDGE) Tavius (Robinson) was dealing with that when I first got here (to Ole Miss).”
The 6-foot-6, 330-pound Pounds is widely expected to step in and start at left tackle for Ole Miss in 2024.
Pounds handled blind-side-protector duties for soon-to-be Top 10 NFL Draft selection Drake Maye in all 13 games for UNC last season.
Now, he’ll safeguard Jaxson Dart, whose Vaught-Hemingway Stadium tour all but wrapped Pounds in Red and Blue.
“I’m trying to just clear my mind and just do it,” Pounds said of his recovery. “That’s been the mindset, ‘Just go.’ So, I’ve been trying to run on it (and) do everything I can. ‘Cause, you know, once you cut a nerve, all that stuff is gone. Your movements you’re used to, they’re gone. You gotta gain it back.
“My quad was very weak, so I was having to work on my quad and stuff to get the muscle back so I could feel good again. But I’m really hoping to be back very soon.”
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