Ashlee Palmer, DB

Palmer stepped into the Rebels' defense as a starting linebacker after an All-American sophomore season at safety for Compton Community College and a season out of football because he failed to qualify academically at Nebraska and Washington. He played quarterback at Compton as a freshman but received a medical redshirt because he missed all but two games with an injury. Palmer had seven tackles for loss and led Ole Miss with 89 tackles, three interceptions and seven pass breakups as a junior. His productivity was down a bit in 2008 (50 tackles, five TFL, one INT) but scouts noticed his ability to hold his gap and negate tight ends, strengths that don't always show on the stat sheet.

Positives: Good upper-body strength with room to grow. … Owns the straight-line speed and length to handle most tight ends (or larger receivers) down the seam or trail across the field. … Not afraid to mix it up on the line of scrimmage. … Sheds TE blocks to chase down ballcarriers. … Strong blitzer with a quick initial step and good closing speed. … Attacks quick screens on the edge. … Has the length to wrap and tackle securely. … Drops deep in a hurry. … Perfect size and speed for coverage units.

Negatives: Considered a safety-linebacker "tweener" by some teams. … Only adequate height for a linebacker and thin through the hips and legs. … Lacks the fluidity to cover receivers at safety. … Stiff hips limit change-of-direction skills and recovery speed. … Slow backpedal in man coverage. … Gets caught in trash and is not aware of rub routes. … Lacks the bulk to hold up when targeted in the running game. … Misses too many tackles in the open field because he cannot adjust to speed or break down quickly enough.

Played in and started 11 games at sam linebacker … Led the Rebels in total tackles (89), interceptions (3), pass break-ups (7) and fumble recoveries (2) … Also posted 7.0 TFLs, four QB hurries and forced a fumble … Named to Phil Steele's Mid-Season All-SEC third team … Earned his first letter … vs. Memphis (9/1): In Rebel debut, topped the team with 12 tackles, including three TFLs, and notched an interception … vs. Missouri (9/8): Credited with 12 total stops, with seven solos, 0.5 TFLs and a pass break-up … vs. Vanderbilt (9/15): Recorded eight tackles, including three solos and one TFL … vs. Florida (9/22): Credited with nine tackles with five solos and a pass break-up … vs. Georgia (9/29): Posted three tackles, including two solos, with a pass break-up … vs. Louisiana Tech (10/6): Tallied career-high 15 tackles (11 solo), also recovered a fumble in the Rebels' shutout … vs. Alabama (10/13): Collected eight total stops with an interception, two pass break-up and a QB hurry … vs. Arkansas (10/20): Notched nine tackles, with five solos and 0.5 TFLs … vs. Auburn (10/27): Credited with four stops, including three solos, with a QB pressure … Also forced and recovered a fumble … vs. LSU (11/17): Credited with four total tackles … vs. Mississippi State (11/23): Totaled five tackles, including three solos and a half sack … Also made an interception and 28-yard return with three minutes left in the game … Spring: Transferred to Ole Miss in January and participated in spring drills … Collected four tackles (three solo) and one TFL in the Red-Blue spring game.

Did not play football in 2006.

Played two seasons (2004 and 2005) at Compton (Calif.) Community College where he earned first-team All-America honors from the JC Athletic Bureau in 2005 … Named first-team California Region III and All-State by the California Community College Coaches Association … Selected All-Western State Conference Southern Division Defensive Player of the Year by league coaches … Was also second-team All-America pick by JC Grid-Wire in 2005 … Due to an injury, was limited to two games at Compton during 2004 campaign … Junior college stats included 118 tackles and seven pass interceptions … Ranked 34th overall junior college prospect and fourth best safety in nation by CollegeFootballNews.com … Ranked 33rd overall junior college prospect and fourth-best safety in the nation by JCFootball.com … Ranked 38th overall junior college prospect and fifth-best defensive back in nation by Rivals.com … Coached at Compton Community College by Angelo Jackson.

Earned first-team all-league honors as a senior year … Helped lead Lynwood High to 10-1-1 record and a CIF playoff berth in 2003, completing 72 of 128 passes for 1,103 yards and 10 TDs … Also had 297 rushing yards and seven TDs … On defense, credited with two fumble recoveries … Earned four letters in football, two in basketball and one in track … Coached in high school by Jeff Jenkins.

Son of Jewel Griffin … Full name is Ashlee Palmer … Born April 7, 1986.