Ole Miss Coach Lane Kiffin to watch Manning’s Isidore Newman team in the playoffs
OXFORD, Miss. — While much of the college football world remains focused on running their own analytics to see if Ole Miss head coach Lane Kiffin might be headed to Miami, I bet the only “M” on the coach’s mind this evening, outside of Mississippi, is Manning.
Coach Kiffin’s Rebels are coming off a big win over Jimbo Fisher and the Aggies, 29-19, last Saturday in the Vaught — a win that has put Ole Miss in a good spot to finish 10-2 in the Top 10 with a New Years’ Six bowl bid possible.
In a little less than two years, Kiffin has mustered one heck of a Mississippi Revival.
The Rebels are undoubtedly focused on finishing their home play 7-0 this year, with the final home game against Vandy set for about 24 hours from now.
However, you can bet Coach Kiffin and staff are also focused on the recruits from coast-to-coast who are in post-season play. With less than a month until the early signing period, sealing the deal for the 2022 class — and continuing to lay the foundation for 2023 — is vital.
The bottom line is that recruiting comes down to building relationships. If you want to bring in the best talent, you have to build personal relationships from the jump, and do it better than the next program and staff are doing.
Watching Arch
On Friday night, the Lane Train is heading down to the Bayou to Baton Rouge to watch Isidore Newman vs. Episcopal in the DIII quarterfinals of the Louisiana state playoffs. Yes, Newman, the home of a certain player named Arch Manning.
Feels like a great night to go watch 2 great high school programs @EHSBRAthletics vs @NewmanAthletes #GoKnights #GoGreenies
— Lane Kiffin (@Lane_Kiffin) November 19, 2021
Manning remains the No.1 overall athlete and No. 1 quarterback in the 2023 class across all the major recruiting sites, including 247Sports and On3.
Tonight could be the start of a long-standing Manning dream of leading the Newman Greenies to a state championship. While he hasn’t been too vocal about his recruitment, Arch sure has made it known how important it is for him to have the opportunity to make history with his team by bringing home that state title.
The fifth-seed Greenies, who are riding high on a two-game winning streak after a rough patch of losing two in a row, will go head-to-head with an undefeated Episcopal team.
Arch Manning and the Newman Greenies have arrived at @EpiscopalBR. @WAFB pic.twitter.com/NNE4cA93CY
— Jacques Doucet (@JacquesDoucet) November 19, 2021
The Newman-Episcopal winner likely will face reigning Division III champion Lafayette Christian (8-1) on the road in the semifinal round. No. 3 St. Charles (8-0) is on the other half of the Division III bracket with a quarterfinal against No. 6 Dunham (7-3). The state championship is set for Dec. 4 at Tulane’s Yulman Stadium.
Coach Kiffin is not the first Power 5 coach to make it down to catch Arch in action. Texas’ Steve Sarkisian and Georgia’s Kirby Smart have both made trips to see Manning.
This recruitment is unique on so many levels — and the analytics probably can’t even predict what will happen — so stay tuned! We’ll keep you posted on the latest.
Lee Ann Herring-Olvedo
Lee Ann serves as the Director of Recruiting for The Rebel Walk. She sees college football the way championship programs do—from inside the personnel room. Every evaluation, every roster move, every recruiting battle tells a bigger story about identity, culture, and how a program is built to win in December, not just July.
With more than 15 years covering the SEC and the national recruiting landscape, Herring-Olvedo has built a reputation as one of the sport’s most respected personnel-driven voices—blending film evaluation, roster construction, and long-term program vision through a true front-office lens. Her coverage of powerhouse brands like Ole Miss Rebels and Kentucky Wildcatshas consistently gone beyond headlines, focusing instead on the blueprint behind winning programs: development, fit, culture, and recruiting strategy.
That foundation was formed early at Brown University, where she worked in player personnel and recruiting while competing as a student-athlete. Inside those recruiting operations rooms, she learned how elite organizations are truly built—through relentless evaluation, relationship building, projection, and trust in the board. Those experiences shaped the way she studies the game today: part scout, part storyteller, part architect.
Her analysis and reporting have appeared across major platforms including ESPN, NFL coverage spaces, USA Today Sports, and Saturday Down South. She also brought her personnel-minded approach to the airwaves as an on-air analyst for the Wake Up 502 College Football Show on Big X Sports Radio 96.1, where she became known for combining film-room detail with a wider understanding of roster identity and program trajectory.
In 2025, covering the rise of Houston Cougars football under Willie Fritz reignited the part of the sport that first drew her into football—the culture, the edge, the belief that a roster can reshape an entire city. That inspiration led to the launch of Coogs 365 Sports, a platform built to cover Houston athletics through a true scouting and recruiting lens while connecting the emotion of the game to the heartbeat of H-Town.
Now, Herring-Olvedo returns to The Rebel Walk where with an even deeper perspective shaped by years inside recruiting circles, national SEC coverage, and hands-on evaluation experience. Her return brings a familiar voice back to Ole Miss coverage—but with an evolved lens rooted in roster architecture, player development, and the modern realities of building championship-caliber football in the NIL and portal era.
For Herring-Olvedo, recruiting has never been about stars beside a name. It is about identifying competitors, projecting growth, and building a locker room capable of sustaining success. Her philosophy mirrors the best front offices in football: stack traits, trust culture, and never stop building.
