OXFORD – Former Ole Miss safety Kapena Gushiken understands just how pivotal an otherwise nondescript March day in Oxford may have been toward accomplishing his highest football dreams.
A total of 16 former Rebels took part in Ole Miss’ Pro Day on Wednesday at the Manning Center. A total of 38 scouts from 30 different NFL teams were in attendance, as was a representative from a CFL team. The 2026 NFL Draft takes place April 23-25 in Pittsburgh.
The Rebels are coming off the winningest season in program history, a 13-2 campaign that resulted in the program’s first College Football Playoff berth, a pair of wins in the playoff and an appearance in the national semifinals. Many of the star pieces from that team – quarterback Trinidad Chambliss, running back Kewan Lacy, defensive linemen Kam Franklin and Will Echoles and linebacker Suntarine Perkins – return in 2026. There also aren’t any surefire early-round draft picks entering the NFL Draft from Ole Miss like there were in 2025, when quarterback Jaxson Dart, defensive linemen Walter Nolen and Princely Umanmielen, cornerback Trey Amos and wide receiver Tre Harris all heard their names called on the first two days of the draft.
Only one current draft hopeful, tight end Dae’Quan Wright, is listed among the top 10 at his respective position by ESPN’s Mel Kiper. A total of five Rebels were invited to the NFL Scouting Combine in February: wide receivers De’Zhaun Stribling and Harrison Wallace III, defensive tackle Zxavian Harris, offensive tackle Diego Pounds and Wright.
But that’s not to say Wednesday wasn’t just for those already on scouts’ radar. Gushiken, who began his career at Saddleback College before playing at Washington State and eventually Ole Miss, was among the testing standouts among former players. The 6-foot, 190-pounder ran a 4.35 second 40-yard dash, had an 11-foot broad jump and a 41-inch vertical leap. Those numbers would have ranked in the top five among safeties at the combine, with his broad jump ranking first. He had 55 tackles and an interception in his lone season at Ole Miss.
As one of the NFL hopefuls who wasn’t invited to the NFL Combine, Wednesday was a chance to turn heads.
“(Today was) really important, honestly. Really important,” Gushiken said. “I care a lot about football and this journey that I’ve been on, and I know how much weight and how much it’ll help me going forward. So, definitely took the process very serious, and I feel like I did decently good.”
Stribling looked to continue the momentum from his head-turning combine performance. He ran a 4.36 40-yard dash at the event, which was eighth among all receivers. Stribling was among Ole Miss’ top playmakers down the stretch in 2025-26, racking up 420 of his 811 yards over the final five games. He also scored four of his six touchdowns over that stretch.
Stribling admits that his blazing 40 time opened some eyes on a larger scale, but it wasn’t anything he didn’t already know himself. Wednesday was another opportunity for him to show off his polish as a multifaceted route runner and all-around weapon rather than as just a burner.
“I think it was great. Clean routes, showed all my speed, showed my … cuts being very fast and very fluid,” Stribling said. “So, overall a great day.”
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