Lane Kiffin explains greatest concern when debating roster size, scholarships

One topic has seemingly taken over the SEC Spring Meetings in Destin, with roster caps being a point of contention with head coaches. Many have given their opinion, with Ole Miss‘ Lane Kiffin speaking to the media on Tuesday evening. He discussed the concerns when limiting roster spots, potentially taking away 40 guys from his program.

“I think there’s some safety issues there,” Kiffin said at SEC Spring Meetings. “I mean, practice how you play and numbers could get low to where you have to overplay players compared to where you haven’t in the past. So, there are some very big safety concerns. And the ability to practice well enough to develop young players also.”

No matter the roster size, practices would stay the same length. Players would get more reps at the same high-intensity level, putting a lot more fatigue on the body. Kiffin wants to keep practice at the same pace of a game and when playing in the SEC, that can be taxing.

Having more players to run out there allows key players to rest and get more mental reps throughout practice. Critical when going through a potential 17-game season to win a national championship.

Kiffin also points out having a handful of younger guys on the roster, potentially taking away from their development. Most freshman are not going to see game time and rely on practice to improve their skills every day.

They can also serve as scout team players, going up against the ones during game prep. Taking them away leaves every team without critical guys the NFL is allowed to have — a model the SEC appears to be attempting to adopt.

“You want to be like the NFL in some ways but not in other ways,” Kiffin said. “You want to make these limits but we don’t have practice squads, we don’t have the ability to have players just spring in, have them try out, and have players after injury.”

Kiffin is not afraid to give his honest opinion of the rules and regulations being implemented in college football. He has continually discussed how the NCAA transfer portal and NIL have evolved since coming to fruition.

However, he did not give his specific opinion on whether or not he is in favor of roster caps. Based on the concerns, you might conclude Kiffin has questions and might be against the idea. Most SEC coaches have spoken against it while in Destin.