Ole Miss head coach Lane Kiffin discusses the Rebels’ signing day, transfer portal and recruiting
OXFORD, Miss. — Ole Miss head coach Lane Kiffin met with the media on National Signing Day to discuss the newest players the Rebels will have coming into the program.
“Today was an exciting day. Lots of things going on between practicing for a major bowl and having Signing Day on the same day,” Kiffin said.
“I’m excited for so many players around the country that achieve their dream of making a college decision today. It’s always a special day for all of them and their families. We’re excited about the guys that are coming here. I want to credit our staff, really our whole building, for putting a lot of work into these high school, portal, and junior college players. To be able to put this many guys together takes a lot of work by a lot of people. I’m very grateful to all those that helped around here. Our staff put together, what I think, collection wise, would easily be our best class we’ve signed since we’ve been here.“
Lane Kiffin
The Rebels have won 10-regular season games for the second time in three years and have gotten some talented players out of the portal.
“We haven’t even finished our season and we’re in free agency,” Kiffin said. “No other sport would you have free agency before the playoffs. It’s unfortunate the way it is. Not complaining. We’ll maximize the rules around it and put together the best rosters we can.”
Ole Miss defensive coordinator Pete Golding has added a lot of players to next year’s squad as he continues the improvement to the Rebels’ defense.
“Our whole staff’s done a great job. Pete has always been a relentless recruiter,” Kiffin said. “I think that when you get someone out of Alabama, it’s easier to show that because at Alabama, they just always recruits at a high level regardless of who’s there, because coach (Saban) does such a great job. Now it’s so easy to recruit because of the amount of draft picks they’ve had. Pete’s been unbelievable. He’s done a really good job of improving our defense on the field and now. He really didn’t have a chance last season because he didn’t have an off-season because of how late he got here. His relationships with players from previous recruiting went a long way too.”
The loss to Georgia affected Kiffin in how he views retooling the Rebels’ roster.
“We sat in a press conference and this really started in Athens, Georgia. I think you guys sensed my disappointment after that game in the way that I coached and some other things,” Kiffin explained.
“I just said ‘We’re going to do everything in our power to change the way that we look. As a team, but especially defensively.’ We might not be very good, but we’re going to look a lot better in our uniforms. A lot of that was signing players that are already significant players in the SEC, that we’ve seen play against these teams. We have not been a very big team. Especially defensively, we’re a very short team. I love our players, I love how hard they play, but length matters at times. That’s why the draft is drafted the way it is. We definitely have improved overall with significant players on offense, but really on defense. A lot more players that I think compete at a high level that give you a chance to be an elite defense in the SEC.“
Lane Kiffin
Ole Miss has also been able to retain a lot of the current players for the 2024 season, one that could feature the Rebels in the 12-team College Football Playoffs.
“These guys a lot of times when they wouldn’t have come back (and gone to NFL) they stayed,” Kiffin said. “I think that’s a product of a number of things. I think that’s a really cool locker room and culture we have. They recruited each other to come back. That’s very unique nowadays. That’s a huge credit to our assistant coaches, our strength and conditioning coaches, for our culture…”
The NCAA has now announced that players who are two-time transfers can play, players like Clemson transfer linebacker TJ Dudley.
“Yes, all that we’ve been told, Dudley can play in the bowl game,” Kiffin said. “I think it should have been that way anyway….very happy for him.”
Next Up:
Ole Miss will finish out the 2023 season on December 30 in the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl against No. 10 Penn State at 11 a.m. CT on ESPN.
Adam Brown
Adam Brown joins The Rebel Walk as the Managing Editor after being on the Ole Miss beat as a Sports Editor for over 11 years. He is a lifelong Oxford resident. Brown graduated from the University of Mississippi with a bachelor’s degree in journalism.
Prior to The Rebel Walk, Brown was the sports editor of HottyToddy.com covering every Ole Miss sport and local high school sports in the community.
