Lane Kiffin discusses how social media presence helps Ole Miss recruiting

Lane Kiffin has become one of the most recognizable names in college football, in large part due to his social media antics. While his former boss Nick Saban remains against the use of social media recruiting, his apprentice has become a master.

During an interview with CBS Sports sideline reporter Jamie Erdahl, Lane Kiffin revealed the advantage memes and trolls provide Ole Miss.

“We walk into homes or families come here to visit and almost the first thing every time – a lot of times by a parent – is ‘we love your Twitter, we love following you, it’s awesome. We feel like we know you, even though we haven’t met you,’” Kiffin explained. “And to me, how much money could you pay for that in recruiting, to have someone feel like they know you when they’ve never met you?”

The Ole Miss social media pages have embraced Lane Kiffin’s mentality, regularly creating interaction by trolling opponents on social media. While the practice remains controversial with some, it appears to work for the Rebels, who are now ranked No. 12 heading into Saturday’s matchup with LSU.

Ole Miss brings one of the nation’s top recruits into Vaught-Hemingway Stadium this week, as five-star quarterback Arch Manning visits. He will witness a unique recruiting visit, watching his uncle Eli’s jersey retirement while in Oxford, Mississippi.

Ole Miss reveals special endzone design

Ole Miss is going all out to honor Eli Manning, who’s #10 jersey will be retired in a ceremony this weekend when the Rebels take on LSU. In place of the traditional end zone design, the end zones now say “Manning” to honor the legacy of one of the best players in school history.

The original Eli Manning jersey retirement ceremony plan came in 2020, but limited capacity and other restrictions due to the COVID-19 pandemic pushed the plans back to 2021.

The NFL star played at Ole Miss from 2000-2004, starting his final three seasons. In his time with the Rebels, Manning threw for 10,119 yards and 81 touchdowns, completing over 60% of his passes. He earned the Maxwell Award, was first-team All-SEC and SEC Offensive Player of the Year in 2003 after throwing for 3600 yards and 29 touchdowns.

Manning holds the Rebels’ all-time records for passing yards and passing touchdowns. In addition, he remains tied for first in the Rebels’ single season passing touchdown record and the single game record for passing touchdowns.