JD PicKell: Lane Kiffin is 'enjoying becoming the villain' of the transfer portal

Nobody has adjusted to the transfer portal quite like Lane Kiffin. The Ole Miss football coach made a big splash this offseason, bringing in seven of the top 50 players in On3’s Transfer Portal Rankings.

That is more than the likes of both USC and Texas, each of whom have also been praised for how they attacked the portal. As On3’s JD PicKell explained in a recent YouTube video, Kiffin’s success has come from his ability to adapt to changes other coaches are complaining about. That might make him a “villain” in the eyes of many, but the coach isn’t bothered one bit.

“I think Lane Kiffin has done this how most of us would do it,” PicKell said. “Don’t take offense to that. I’m not saying you and I are the same caliber of Lane Kiffin, but I think he’s done a great job of being on the cutting edge of this. The metaphor I would use is Lane Kiffin is playing soccer if they changed the rules to (where) you can pick up the ball now. You and I both know we’d pick that thing up with our own two hands and we’d to the goal and throw it in as quickly as possible.

“There’s a lot of people who would say, ‘That’s bad for the game. I don’t that. I’m gonna stick to doing it how we used to. Maybe we’ll do it a little bit, but we’re still gonna stick to the integrity of the game.’ Lane Kiffin is saying, ‘No. These are the rules now. I’m going to embrace them and find a way to make it work in my favor. I’m gonna use it to my advantage.’ He’s not worried about what other people think about him. He’s not worried about the public opinion or the social media hate he gets. He is embracing that. He is enjoying becoming the villain, if you will, of the transfer portal.”

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Kiffin has always been a skilled recruiter thanks to his ability to use social media in ways other coaches don’t. Now he is using that to attack the transfer portal in addition to high school recruits.

Kiffin had to replace starting quarterback Matt Corral this offseason and went to the transfer portal to do it. He added former USC quarterback Jaxson Dart, the No. 4 transfer quarterback according to On3, as his replacement. Other big additions included TCU running back Zach Evans and Central Michigan linebacker Troy Brown.

“He has no problem pitching, ‘Transfer to the Sip’ and he’s winning at that,” PicKell said. “Look at the caliber of players they got. They are crushing the transfer portal and it’s because Lane Kiffin has been quick to adjust to the rules.

“Everybody else out there who’s still kicking the ball around with their feet and stick to the old way of doing things, that’s fine. Morally I would say that’s OK, but you’re gonna get left in the dust by Lane Kiffin picking that thing up with his own two hands and throwing it into the goal. Because until they change the rules, that’s what they are right now. You either get with it or you get left behind. Lane Kiffin has done a phenomenal job of getting with it and I think Ole Miss is going to benefit from that because of it.”

Kiffin is coming off of a 10-3 record in his second season with the Rebels and will look to maintain status as one of the SEC’s premier teams going forward. If he is going to do that, he knows the transfer portal will play a big part.

Ole Miss will open the 2022 season on Sept. 3 against the Troy Trojans.