History meets the future – Lane Kiffin extends offer to grandson of Ole Miss Rebels trailblazer
The Ole Miss football program extended an offer to a 2027 prospect who is the grandson of one of the school’s biggest names.
On Monday, Ole Miss head coach Lane Kiffin extended an offer to a familiar name. Mason Ball, the grandson of former Ole Miss legend Coolidge Ball, received an offer to play football in Oxford, a place his grandfather once called home.
The elder Ball was the first African-American student-athlete to enroll and compete in athletics at the University of Mississippi. The Indianola, Miss., native was part of the SEC Basketball Legends 2005 class honored at the SEC Men's Basketball Tournament in 2005. He is also a member of the Ole Miss and Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame.
Coolidge Ball sadly passed away in 2023 at the age of 71.
Now, the Ball name could potentially pop up at Ole Miss again as the rising junior now has an opportunity to follow his grandfather's lead. In 2024, the 6-foot-1, 190 pound prospect managed to account for over 1,000 all-purpose yards for Jacksonville (Ark.) despite battling a hip injury.
He also holds notable offers from Arkansas, Kansas State, Purdue and Vanderbilt.
Mason Ball recently spoke with 247Sports' David Johnson about the family lineage at Ole Miss.
"It's awesome having all of that come through the family," Ball said. "I have a lot of family history at Ole Miss. It really does mean a lot to me being able to work as hard as I've been able to and achieve what I've been able to and showcase enough to demonstrate that I'm capable of playing at a place like Ole Miss. Maybe I can be the same level as Coolidge."
Mason also speculated about what his late grandfather would think of him possibly playing for the Ole Miss Rebels.
"Man, he would try to persuade me so hard to go there," Ball said, exploding in laughter. "If he were here today…if I was to call him…he would probably drive down here and get me."
Ole Miss running backs coach Kevin Smith is Ball's primary recruiter. The Rebels have done a lot of damage in the transfer portal at the running back position the past two seasons and signed four-star Shekai Mills-Knight in 2025.
In the 2026 class, the Rebels hold commitments from Kemper County (Miss.) four-star Damarius Yates and Pike Road (Ala.) three-star Ja'Michael Jones.
In terms of a commitment, though, Ball has plenty of time and tells Johnson he is in no hurry.
"I can put it like this. I come from very humble beginnings. I appreciate everything, every coach, every little reach out and every little text. My recruitment right now? I would pretty much say I'm still young and it's still really early," Ball said. "I don't necessarily have a sway to any certain schools right now just because it's early on."
