5 Rebels Sign Free Agent Contracts in NFL

By Adam Brown
Sports Editor
adam.brown@hottytoddy.com

Following the last selection of the NFL draft on Saturday evening, five Ole Miss Rebels got their dreams of playing in the league by signing as free agents.

Josiah Coatney, Myles Hartsfield, Jalen Julius, Scottie Philips and Austrian Robinson joined their former teammate Benito Jones.

Coatney, a defensive lineman for the red and blue, signed with the Pittsburgh Steelers. In his senior season, Coatney started all 12 games. He led all Ole Miss defensive linemen with 46 total tackles, including 3.5 tackles for loss and two sacks.

The Douglasville, Georgia, native started in 35 of the 36 career games he played in during his three-year career as a Rebel. He finished his career with 174 total tackles and 15.5 tackles for loss.

Hartsfield is headed to Charlotte, North Carolina to join the Panthers. During his time in Oxford, Hartsfield earned freshman All-America honors in 2016, appeared in 48 career games for the Rebels and tallied 167 total tackles in his four-year career.

The Sayreville, N.J., native wrapped up his Ole Miss career with 41 tackles, including 2.5 tackles for loss in 2019. He earned his third career interception in the third game of the season vs. Southeastern Louisiana.

Julius played in the landshark secondary for the Rebels for four seasons prior to heading to join the Super Bowl champions Kansas City Chiefs. He played in 45 games for the Rebels. The 2016 SEC All-Freshman selection registered 138 career tackles and 13 pass deflections.

Julius set a career-high in tackles last season with 68 – 50 of which were solo tackles. The Winter Garden, Florida, native also tallied a career-high with seven pass breakups.

Scottie Phillips is taking his talents to the Houston Texans. In two seasons as an Ole Miss Rebel, he appeared in 21 games with 18 starts at running back for the Rebels. He averaged 70 yards rushing per game in his two-year career. The Ellisville, Mississippi, native ended his career ranked No. 11 in career rushing touchdowns (17) and No. 17 in rushing yards (1,470).

In 2019, Phillips carried the ball 125 times for 542 yards and five touchdowns. He tallied back-to-back 100-yard rushing efforts last season against Arkansas and Southeastern Louisiana.

Phillips made a big splash in his first year in a Rebel uniform in 2018 after transferring from Jones College. He rushed for 204 yards and two touchdowns vs. Texas Tech in his Ole Miss debut – the most yards ever by an Ole Miss running back making his debut. At the time, he became just the eighth Ole Miss running back in program history to surpass the 200-yard rushing mark in a single game.

He finished the season ranked fifth in the SEC in total touchdowns (14), third in rushing TDs (12) and ninth in the SEC in rushing yards (927).

Robinson is joining his college teammate Hartsfield with the Carolina Panthers as a defensive end.

Robinson, the 2019 Chucky Mullins Courage Award winner, appeared in 38 career games on the Rebels’ defensive line. He finished his career with 81 total tackles, including 7.5 tackles for loss

The New York native played in all 12 games last season, starting 10 games at defensive end. Robinson finished the season with a career-high 29 tackles and his first career interception.