Ole Miss head coach Lane Kiffin took the microphone at SEC Media Days after the Rebels finished 2023 with a program-record 11 wins. What did Lane Kiffin say, and what did we learn from his press conference?
3 Takeaways From Lane Kiffin Talking at SEC Media Days
1) Kiffin Recalls What Nick Saban Said About Preseason Expectations
Kiffin enters 2024 having spent parts of 12 seasons as an FBS head coach since Tennessee first gave him that title in 2009. In between that time frame was a three-year run (2014-16) he spent rehabbing his own coaching career while simultaneously innovating Nick Saban’s offense at Alabama.
While their divergent personalities led to a relationship that appeared rocky at times from the outside, Kiffin referenced a line on Monday that came straight from his former boss when describing the hype surrounding the Rebels this preseason.
“This is a rat-poison situation here, to have all this attention on our players, and it means nothing,” Kiffin said. “Because it’s all about the work they do here this summer.”
In addition to the first 11-win campaign in the 129-season history of Ole Miss football, the
Rebels finished 2023 ranked ninth in the AP Poll, their highest final ranking since 1969.
With the Rebels returning a Heisman Trophy candidate at quarterback in Jaxson Dart to go along with a group of highly-touted transfers, Kiffin would like to leave the outside noise about his team just there … on the outside.
“I don’t know that you completely contain it,” Kiffin said. “You just continue to talk about it. You continue to hit on it and you hope it sticks.”
2) Like The Rest of Us, Kiffin Is Excited About EA Sports College Football 25
Speaking of Dart, Kiffin had a lot of praise for his starting quarterback who will be returning to Oxford, Miss., for his senior season while closing in on several all-time school records.
Dart was one of four FBS quarterbacks responsible for at least 30 touchdowns and five or fewer interceptions in 2023 — the other three were all selected in the top 12 picks of the 2024 NFL Draft (Caleb Williams, Jayden Daniels, and Bo Nix).
He also ranked among the top 20 nationally in yards per attempt (eighth), yards per completion (10th), passing efficiency (11th), and total offense per game (16th).
However, Kiffin’s praise at the SEC Media Days was not directed toward his ability to produce but instead his ability to lead. And he did so using a reference to the release of EA Sports College Football 25.
“In honor of this game coming out that everyone is so excited about, it makes me think if they had a rating of leadership for a quarterback, he would be a 99,” Kiffin said.
3) Ole Miss Addressed ‘Length and Size’ in Transfer Portal
The only two blemishes on Ole Miss’ schedule last season came against the teams considered at the top of the conference by most — a 24-10 loss at Alabama on Sept. 23 and a 52-17 loss at Georgia on Nov. 11.
When assessing the quality of recruits that we wanted to bring in this offseason through the transfer portal, Kiffin mentioned a “length and size” issue that was exploited in those two games in particular.
KEEP READING: 2024 SEC Power Rankings
“Both Kirby [Smart] and Coach Saban have an exact profile that they recruit to,” Kiffin said. “We’re going to look better coming off the bus.”
Alabama and Georgia are the other SEC teams with more wins over the last three seasons than Ole Miss does — so trying to build a roster that looks like the ones at those two programs isn’t such a bad idea.
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