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Former Ole Miss offensive lineman Mana Taimani is heading to Colorado to continue his collegiate career in 2025, according to a report by Matt Zenitz on Saturday morning.
The 6-foot-4, 345-pounder is from Antioch, California, so this transfer brings Taimani closer to home. It would also mean that Taimani will be leaving Lane Kiffin‘s program after playing for the Rebels for the past 2 seasons and joining Deion Sanders’ program in Boulder in 2025.
Ole Miss’s depth along its offensive line was obviously hurt when Taimani decided to transfer from Oxford.
Taimani joined the Rebels prior to the 2023 season after spending a year at the JUCO level. He played in 12 games during his first season with Ole Miss. This past season, he appeared in 4 games in what was mostly a special teams role. In 2 seasons with the Rebels, he played only a handful of snaps on the offensive side of the ball.
Ironically, both Ole Miss and Colorado had similar seasons in 2024, with the Rebels going 10-3 and the Buffaloes going 9-4. Both programs were solid but finished just out of the College Football Playoff picture. And, of course, both are led by outspoken head coaches in Kiffin and Sanders, so Taimani would be heading to a similar situation in a lot of ways coming off the 2024 season, even though Oxford and Boulder are many miles apart.
Taimani is set to join a Colorado program that will be in a bit of a transition in 2025, with the departures of star quarterback Shedeur Sanders and Heisman Trophy winner Travis Hunter.
Cory Nightingale, a former sportswriter and sports editor at the Miami Herald and Palm Beach Post, is a South Florida-based freelance writer who covers Alabama for SaturdayDownSouth.com.
