Ole Miss to hire Marshall’s Jeremy Springer as special teams coordinator
OXFORD, Miss. — Legendary coach John Wooden used to say, “Things turn out best for those who make the best of the way things turn out.”
This offseason has brought about quite a bit of change for Ole Miss, not just in players who have transferred in and out, but also with respect to the coaching staff.
However, Rebels’ head coach Lane Kiffin continues to embrace whatever comes his way. While many people have focused on the changes to the offensive and defensive staff, there’s another important area that has a new coach in Oxford: special teams.
Per reports, and first reported by John Brice of Football Scoop, Kiffin has hired Jeremy Springer, most recently head of special teams at Marshall, to replace Coleman Hutzler who departed for Alabama.
While with the Thundering Herd, Springer’s unit finished in the top 10 nationally with four blocked kicks and one blocked punt. The new special teams coach arrives in Oxford with with plenty of experience that will continue to open up recruiting pipelines for Ole Miss.
Springer brings experience, recruiting ties
Prior to his arrival in Huntington to coach Marshall, the native Texan and former UTEP standout linebacker spent three years as the special teams coordinator under Kevin Sumlin at Arizona. Springer has also made notable stops at Texas A&M and UTEP.
Jeremy Springer was standout LB at UTEP
Springer played linebacker for UT-El Paso from 2007-2011. He notched 161 tackles, 10.0 tackles for loss and one INT as a standout for the Miners, and after graduation was on staff with UTEP for four season.
During his time in College Station, Springer made quite an impact, wearing many hats, including quality control analyst for the Aggies. He worked under A&M’s special teams coordinator, Jeff Banks, and also helped with tight ends.
During that time the Aggies were one of the top special teams units in the country, leading the nation in blocked kicks and blocked punts. In 2016, the special teams finished top in the country in punt returns and allowed zero blocked kicks.
Springer brings not only coaching experience, but also a strong footing on the recruiting trail in Texas. During his time with the Aggies, he helped open the doors to recruitment in south and west Texas.
At the end of the day, the teams that succeed over the long haul are the ones that can adapt quickly to change — and that is exactly what Coach Kiffin has done.
Coach Wooden would be impressed with the way Kiffin is making the very best of everything that comes his way.
Hotty Toddy, Coach Springer, and Welcome to the ‘Sip!
Lee Ann Herring-Olvedo
Herring-Olvedo 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.
