Because Kiffin wants to match the physicality of teams like Alabama and Georgia, the Rebels signed one of the best transfer portal classes in the nation.
Lane Kiffin has significantly bolstered Ole Miss’s football team through the transfer portal this offseason, bringing in top talents like former Texas A&M 5-star Walter Nolen, Princely Umanmielen, Antwane Wells Jr., and former Alabama defensive back Trey Amos.
Under Kiffin’s leadership, Ole Miss has been steadily improving but has yet to reach the SEC championship game in Atlanta, struggling against top SEC teams. Last season, their only losses were to Georgia and Alabama, two teams Kiffin has not yet defeated while at Ole Miss.
At SEC Media Days, Kiffin revealed that a key part of his portal strategy was to build a roster capable of competing with Alabama and Georgia. He emphasized the need to recruit players with the size and length similar to those on Alabama and Georgia’s teams.
“We need to coach better and improve our recruiting and evaluations,” Kiffin said. “A significant issue in games against Alabama and Georgia was a difference in size and length. Both Kirby [Smart] and Coach [Nick] Saban recruit players with a specific size profile. While it’s challenging to do this everywhere, we have addressed it.”
Kiffin acknowledges that coaching and execution are crucial, but he believes his team will now resemble Alabama and Georgia in terms of physical stature. With the help of this transfer class and high school recruits, Ole Miss aims to match up physically with the top SEC teams.
Thanks to their strong portal class and returning starters, including quarterback Jaxson Dart, the Rebels are receiving a lot of preseason hype and are expected to contend for the College Football Playoff. Kiffin has even sought advice from Saban on managing preseason expectations, or “rat poison.”
“Saban mentioned that this is a ‘rat poison’ situation with all the attention on our players,” Kiffin said. “It means nothing unless we focus on the work and the daily process. Our players are working hard this summer, and we have a lot of work ahead in training camp.”
With the SEC eliminating divisions, Alabama and Ole Miss won’t meet in the regular season, but the Rebels will host Georgia on November 9.