Lane Kiffin hinted at stunning possibility for Ole Miss Rebels following huge Gator Bowl win over Duke

First off, let's make one thing clear. Lane Kiffin is an absolute fiend on social media (and it is objectively hilarious most of the time).Now that we have considered the source, we have to at least acknowledge the stunning possibility for the Ole Miss Rebels that Lane Kiffin hinted at both in his post-game interview […]

Travis May — College Football Managing Editor

Jan 3, 2025 7:05 AM EST

First off, let's make one thing clear. Lane Kiffin is an absolute fiend on social media (and it is objectively hilarious most of the time).

Now that we have considered the source, we have to at least acknowledge the stunning possibility for the Ole Miss Rebels that Lane Kiffin hinted at both in his post-game interview and late night on social media.

Immediately following Ole Miss' 52-20 destruction of Duke in the Gator Bowl, Kiffin "jokingly" said, "You never know. Maybe [Jaxson Dart] will file a waiver and come back another year."

Dart has made it abundantly clear that he has declared for the 2025 NFL Draft and that his Gator Bowl would be his one last ride with his teammates. However, that didn't stop Lane Kiffin from being himself, hinting at the wild possibility of Dart's return as you can see in the SEC Unfiltered post below.

For those fans who might be unaware, even if Jaxson Dart wanted to return to Ole Miss he is technically out of eligibility since he played at least four games in each of the past four seasons, including his time at USC as a true freshman. That's why it would require a waiver even if Dart did somehow have a major change of heart, choosing to return to Ole Miss for one more year.

If Kiffin would have just left his comments on the field in his brief post-game tv interview then that would have been that. Move on. Nothing to see here. But instead, he chose to hop on social media and add just a little more fire to the flame as you can see below.

Again, consider the source. This is Lane Kiffin we're talking about. He loves to mess around a bit on social media. However, given the crazy climate of seemingly exponential growth in player rights over the past few years and the NCAA's epic streak of losses in the courts it wouldn't be completely crazy for Dart to at least pursue a waiver to return (if the price was right).

There hasn't been any precedent set that would fit Jaxson Dart's exact situation, and if he were granted a waiver that may open a door for many more exceptions from the 2021 recruiting class, but there might–all caps, MIGHT–be a path here.

How? Let's dive in, succinctly.

Jaxson Dart and the entire 2021 recruiting class fell victim to less than ideal circumstances in a number of ways in which they could argue their "potential earnings" or "future careers" were limited. That particular verbiage and angle would likely be the foundation of any case for Dart's waiver as that has been a huge part of victorious cases in recent months.

Thanks to the pandemic the entire 2021 recruiting class was forced into a situation where they could not even visit campuses and coaching staff in-person for the majority of their recruiting cycle. Then every single player who was on an FBS roster was granted an extra year of eligibility (via the nullifying of the 2020 season against college football eligibility), so 2021 recruits had to compete against a much older collective player pool when they arrived on campus. And on top of that, far fewer freshman were even considered and inevitably signed in the 2021 class because schools could just retain their older players or take on transfers who–for the first time ever–could play immediately after changing teams instead of sitting out a full season.

There are a number of different angles Jaxson Dart and many others in the 2021 recruiting class could take if they wanted to either pursue a waiver or potentially even legal action against the NCAA for negatively impacting their playing careers and earnings potential.

Dart very likely will just continue on his path towards the 2025 NFL Draft, but it is fun that Lane Kiffin even hinted at the possibility for Ole Miss to potentially get their all-time leading passer back. And it's not as crazy as it sounds given Dart's particular case (alongside all of his 2021 recruiting class contemporaries).

We'll be back with more Ole Miss Rebels coverage here at A to Z Sports here soon! Follow me (@FF_TravisM) and A to Z Sports (@AtoZSportsNFL) on X for all the latest football news!