Ole Miss Rebels head coach Lane Kiffin ruffled some feathers earlier this month when he “praised” the Oklahoma Sooners’ ability to decipher sideline signals.

“You look at the Auburn game (against Oklahoma), I told Hugh (Freeze) after the game watching it that he might want to switch his signals,” said Kiffin on Oct. 20. “It looks like they have the plays. The middle safety is running down the field to steal slants.

“It’s phenomenal prep. Film study of signals. I’ll just tell you how it is. I think they do a great job of that. So if you study people really well, know tendencies, and then you have enough confidence as a coach to go after those, that seems (to be) what he does.”

Ole Miss beat Oklahoma 34-26 in Norman last weekend.

The Tennessee Vols are set to host the Sooners this weekend in Knoxville. And according to VolQuest’s Brent Hubbs, the Volunteers are taking Oklahoma’s ability to decipher signals “seriously.”

Tennessee is taking extra precautions against Oklahoma ahead of showdown in Knoxville

Hubbs joined 104.5 The Zone’s Ramon and Will on Friday for his weekly appearance, and he was asked about Oklahoma’s sign stealing efforts.

“It’s one of those deals where, in the coaching circles, Brent Venables is known for being a guy who — that’s what they do,” said Hubbs. “And to whatever lengths they can go to, within reason. They’re not flying helicopters over the top of practice fields and stuff like that. But you know that you got to be mindful.

“I mean, Lane Kiffin didn’t just pull that out of [thin] air when he said that Auburn should have probably changed their signals because there are a couple of plays that Oklahoma appeared to know exactly what was coming. And so in the coaching world, it’s known. And it’s not a thing where people just can’t stand Venables, or he doesn’t have respect from people. You just know when you play him that that’s part of what they do. And you have to be mindful about switching up your signals and different indicators of what a signal is. Maybe you communicate more just through the helmet, and the quarterback creates some communication that way. But certainly, we learned last year that it’s something Josh Heupel and Tennessee takes seriously, and they certainly have done that this year as well.”

Tennessee is likely sensitive to other teams stealing signals, as there are still many folks — including former Vols quarterback Joe Milton — who believe that South Carolina had UT’s signals in the Gamecocks’ win in Columbia in late 2022 (thanks to the Connor Stalions Michigan sign-stealing scandal).

Venables and the Sooners, however, aren’t scouting games in person or doing anything illegal. Like many teams, Oklahoma legally deciphers signals.

This article was originally published on A to Z Sports Tennessee Vols as ‘Lane Kiffin didn’t just pull that out of the air’ – Why Tennessee is taking extra precautions against Oklahoma and sign stealing.

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