Lane Kiffin's latest recruiting comments will have Vols fans shaking their heads
Ole Miss head coach Lane Kiffin's latest recruiting comments will undoubtedly have Tennessee Vols fans shaking their heads. After losing to Texas Tech in the Texas Bowl, Kiffin met with reporters and, as has become Lane's custom this season, seemed to complain about NIL deals and other programs tampering with his players. "Obviously in recruiting […]
Ole Miss head coach Lane Kiffin's latest recruiting comments will undoubtedly have Tennessee Vols fans shaking their heads.
After losing to Texas Tech in the Texas Bowl, Kiffin met with reporters and, as has become Lane's custom this season, seemed to complain about NIL deals and other programs tampering with his players.
"Obviously in recruiting you gotta go right into this thing," said Kiffin after the loss to Texas Tech. "But now we gotta figure out all these portal guys that are in the portal. And make sure our guys aren't getting bought and keep our own guys. So there's a lot going on."
Other programs aren't allowed to talk to players that aren't in the transfer portal. If they do (and it does happen), then it's considered tampering.
I'm sure most Tennessee fans rolled their eyes when they heard the "make sure our guys aren't getting bought" comment from Kiffin.
And that's because back in early 2010 — when Kiffin left Knoxville for USC — it was reported that Ed Orgeron, Lane's defensive line coach at UT in 2009, was calling recruits that were committed to Tennessee and trying to steer them toward USC.
There were also reports that Orgeron told Tennessee's early enrollees to not go to class so they could easily transfer to USC.
Orgeron admitted to calling recruits after getting pressed by reporters on the subject.
Asked if he advised Tennessee recruits to not attend classes Wednesday so they wouldn’t face transfer rules, Orgeron said, “I’m not going to get into that.
“I make tremendously strong ties with families in recruiting,” he added. “I always try to guide them in the right direction and provide information to them to help some young men who are wondering, ‘Coach, what can I do? What are my options?’
“All I did was present their options. Families call me. I call them. I had answers. I gave them answers to their questions.”
A father of one of the players said Wednesday that Orgeron had offered USC scholarships to some of the Volunteers recruits.
Jeff Bray said his son, former Kingsburg (Calif.) High quarterback Tyler Bray, was in a room Tuesday when Orgeron made his pitch to a group of players via speaker phone.
“He didn’t think it was very cool,” Jeff Bray said of his son’s reaction to the presentation. “You’re in the middle of all this turmoil and they’re trying to pull players. . . . My understanding was a lot of [the players] got very angry and voiced their anger on the phone.”
Kiffin worrying about other programs tampering with his players and acting like he (or his staff, which he is responsible for) hasn't done the same thing is sure to draw a laugh and perhaps a sneer from Vols fans.
Featured image via Matt Bush-USA TODAY Sports
