Lane Kiffin says Ole Miss is already benefitting from less 'name brand' transfer portal additions
The Ole Miss Rebels were on the cusp of making the College Football Playoff last season with a roster largely reliant on key transfer portal additions. Though they fell short, Lane Kiffin built one of the stronger teams in the nation and he'll see his program well represented in the 2025 NFL Draft next month. […]
The Ole Miss Rebels were on the cusp of making the College Football Playoff last season with a roster largely reliant on key transfer portal additions. Though they fell short, Lane Kiffin built one of the stronger teams in the nation and he'll see his program well represented in the 2025 NFL Draft next month.
However, Kiffin is seeing a certain edge to his 2025 Rebels through the team's first few spring practices that they lacked last year. After Tuesday's practice, Kiffin revealed that Ole Miss' fight has improved, and he thinks that's due to a shift in personnel.
Ole Miss' transfer portal haul this past offseason was devoid of a Jaxson Dart, Walter Nolen, or Princely Umanmielen, but his team is now more competitive.
"It’s very competitive out there. I really like the energy of the team. I think portal-wise we got a lot of new players. Probably not as many name brands as last year. There’s a good side of that. You watch guys, even special teams, guys that would probably be starters, in special team drills being competitive. Excited about what we see out there."
Practices have been closed off to media and fans, but Kiffin hasn't had it easy as he replaces almost 75% of his starters from last year's team. There are positional battles all over, including at quaterback.
So far, he's seeing intense practices but has to spread the reps out because there are fewer known quantities.
"With not as many veteran guys coming in that had as much starting experience, especially in the SEC, I think there’s more mixtures of players that need to play, including there were a lot of returners in that, too. It’s why all these reps count."
Overall, the Rebels have an uphill battle to improve upon a 10-win season. Third-year sophomore quarterback Austin Simmons is favored to start, and he'll have his hands full lifting a unit with only one proven veteran receiver back and several offensive line spots up for grabs.
The defensive backfield is even more uncertain. By adding four upperclassmen in the portal, Ole Miss has decent maturity to rely upon. However, there's not proven starpower, and the incumbent depth pieces may emerge as better options anyway.
