Lane Kiffin describes his relationship with Hugh Freeze
Ole Miss will once again clash with former leader Hugh Freeze, this time with Lane Kiffin leading the Rebels against the Auburn Tigers.
Ahead of the showdown, Kiffin elaborated on his history with Freeze. While there isn’t much to write about regarding their paths crossing, it’s always been positive for Kiffin when they have.
“I haven’t been around him that much. A few times, over the years,” explained the Ole Miss leader. “My brother, when he coaches here, and (I) really appreciated how he treated my brother. You know, I had nothing but good interactions the few times with him, at SEC Media Days. Obviously, we played him at Liberty, when they played here. So that’s about it.”
So there isn’t the history that other SEC coaching matchups have, but there is a respect between Freeze and Kiffin. The latter was really the first Rebels leader to get Ole Miss back to the level it was playing at under Freeze, before the NCAA sanctioned Ole Miss for violations committed during his time in Oxford.
Nevertheless, there’ll be no love between these two when it comes time for kickoff on Saturday, as Ole Miss and Auburn both need a win to keep pace in the heated SEC.
Lane Kiffin anticipates Jordan Watkins playing for Ole Miss against Auburn
Ole Miss coach Lane Kiffin opened his Monday press conference with some good news regarding an injury to receiver Jordan Watkins. The senior reportedly suffered the injury in practice this past week during the Rebels’ bye week.
Fortunately, as of Monday, it doesn’t seem as if it will keep him out of the upcoming road contest against Auburn on Saturday. According to a brief update from Kiffin, the team is preparing as if Watkins will be available.
“We anticipate him playing,” the coach said. “That’s all I got for you.”
Watkins has been the leading receiver for Ole Miss this season with 36 catches for 536 yards and a pair of touchdowns. Not only is that already a career-high in yardage, but it ranks him eighth in the SEC.
Watkins has reached the 100-yard mark in three games so far this year, including a Week 5 win against LSU when he finished with five catches for 103 yards and a touchdown. His status will be one to monitor throughout this week, but barring any setbacks he should be ready to go.
If Watkins does miss, the Rebels could turn to Zakhari Franklin to fill that role. The UTSAtransfer missed the first three games of the season before returning for the start of SEC play in Week 4. He has played a limited role thus far with two catches for 23 yards on the year.
On3’s Chandler Vessels contributed to this article.