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ATLANTA — The college football season is on the horizon, confirmed by conference media days getting underway this past week. SEC Football Media Days returns to Atlanta starting Monday, July 14th and running through July 17th.
Ole Miss head coach Lane Kiffin will be joined by quarterback Austin Simmons, wide receiver Cayden Lee, and linebacker TJ Dottery to take questions from the media about the upcoming 2025 season.
Here are three questions Coach Kiffin might hear when he hits the stage in Atlanta.
What is the status of the defensive back room?
Near the end of spring practice, Kiffin expressed concerns about the defensive back positions not being where he wanted them, mainly due to departures to the NFL and the transfer portal. The Rebels are returning just two players in the secondary that played for the 2024 Ole Miss team in TJ Banks and Cedrick Beavers, neither of them being starters in their roles a year ago.
“…Defensively we have done a really good job up front — we have a lot of work to do in the secondary.”
Lane Kiffin on April 3
During the spring transfer portal, Kiffin and his staff looked to strengthen the position. They added Arkansas transfer CB Jaylon Braxton, Clemson cornerback Tavoy Feagin, South Alabama defensive back Ricky Fletcher, ULM safety Wydett Williams, LSU Safety Sage Ryan, and Auburn CB Antonio Kite, deepening the depth chart.
“There are so many new pieces. Even though there were a lot of new pieces last year, they had played a lot, guy you’d see start in the SEC — I feel like there are a lot of guys in a new scheme here, especially the back seven defensively.”
Lane Kiffin
The question is, where do the Rebels sit now with the position group? Do the coaches have what they need to help Ole Miss win in 2025?
How will recent departures of key staff affect recruiting?
Ole Miss lost two crucial staff members in July, one of whom was a significant recruiting asset who has helped shape some of the top 20 classes over the last few years. Recruiting coordinator Kelvin Bolden left for the LSU Tigers to take on an elevated front office role, and Ole Miss Director of Player Personnel Alex Brown left for the NFL with the Atlanta Falcons.
Both were important behind the scenes, but the Bolden departure will hit especially hard. In college football, programs often lose staff to bigger roles if there isn’t a clear path for advancement at their current place of employment. What’s next at those openings? How hard will it be to replace Bolden and Brown? Will it also affect recruiting for the 2026 class?
How is the QB transition going?
The 2025 season will see a new quarterback starter for Ole Miss for the first time in three seasons after Jaxson Dart departed as a first-round NFL Draft pick. The new leader will be Austin Simmons, who backed up Dart in 2024.
We have a small sample size from Simmons, but we all saw his touchdown drive against the Georgia Bulldogs in a very high-pressure situation. In the 2024 season, Simmons completed 19-of-32 passes for 282 yards and two touchdowns.
Now, in 2025, Simmons looks ready to take the reins. He was asked in spring camp what he had been working on.
“I’d definitely say really increasing my verbal leadership. I’ve never been like a verbal-type leader. I’m trying to progress in that…Also, I want to become a better situational football player…taking things very slow, making sure I know what’s going on in the game and what I have to do.”
Austin Simmons
After three seasons with a future NFL QB at the helm, there’s no doubt Coach Kiffin will be asked how he sees his team with Simmons at QB1. As it stands, the redshirt sophomore, who graduated in May from Ole Miss, appears ready to lead the Rebels to a College Football Playoff push.
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Jordan Merritt
Jordan is a freelance writer who covers sports, games, and more. A United Kingdom native, he covers everything Ole Miss for The Rebel Walk. He has written for several publications, including Athlon Sports, On SI, Fansided, and others. Away from writing, he loves spending time with his family and watching films and TV series.
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