Lane Kiffin discusses Rebels’ roster, culture-building, addition of Zach Arnett and health of Jaxson Dart

“But like I told our guys, I think that, well, I know this, we have a really good roster. I understand there’s a lot of kind of preseason hype around it, all that stuff. But that doesn’t mean we’re a good team just because we have a good roster. Our roster would certainly look like the best one since we’ve been here, probably by far, because you have so many returning pieces from last year. And then these additions of other pieces that a number of them have been starters at other places and been really good players. So it’s a really good roster, which you guys will talk a lot about. But that does not mean we’re a good team. It’s a lot of work. There’s a lot of culture building for that to happen. Because you guys have all seen in this sport or different sports, these really good rosters put together in the off season, whether that’s the NBA or NFL, and does not always translate to wins.“

“…You do have the first year here, really, where you have this combination of influx of talent plus a lot of really good returners, I don’t think we’ve really had that. And there’s not a lot of holes to replace. Normally you’ve got between the NFL draft, senior eligibility and the people leaving in the portal, you have a lot of starters to replace and a lot of significant players to replace. We don’t have that. There’s only a few combined between the NFL…and then really basically losing Q (Quinshon Judkins) in the portal as the only significant player. So that’s not a lot of spots to fill. So yeah, there was excitement out there. Again, it looks really good as a roster, but we have a lot of work to do.“

“We spent a ton of time on it bringing people in, talking about culture, labeling culture, having different levels of culture, you know, using culture-one hoodies, maybe, that few people in the building have. We spent a lot of time on this because it’s always been important. But talent, you know, you guys know I’m realistic. And what I say is, talent can override culture. I don’t care what people say. You get a super talented, great, elite, talented team, and they can they can beat lesser players that have culture. But culture is very important, especially when it’s close. And now it’s more important to redo your culture every year because your roster is turning over, half your roster is turning over. So, I just think it’s really important. And even though we have so many pieces coming back and really good leadership, we’re not banking on that and we’re just restarting. And this team is zero and zero. And everybody in this program from myself to quarterback is zero and zero. So that’s how we’ve restarted this thing.”

“Jaxson threw seven on seven today and some routes on air. But he did have an offseason procedure and he’s very limited movement wise.”

“I don’t know exactly. It’s a lower body issue so he can still throw. And like I said, the seven on seven. So I think he’ll continue to get back. But, you know, every cost has a benefit. And, that benefit is the other people getting getting reps and being able to play a lot. And in that absence, I think, Walker (Howard) and Austin (Simmons) — even coming back from playing baseball, coming over here — have done a great job.“

“I’ve had a lot of respect for Zach and thought they did a great job, over there in Starkville during his time on defense and caused people problems… Actually today, I think is his first day…So, this was a really good fit that way. He (Arnett) came down, met with myself, met with Coach Golding and, you know, excited to put him in the defensive room and especially with his conference knowledge. And, so should be really good.“