Lane Kiffin on Texas in the SEC: 'They're one of the elite rosters in America'

Lane Kiffin heaped immense praise on the Texas Longhorns as the program readies for their first campaign as a member of the Southeastern Conference.

With Quinn Ewers and Steve Sarkisian leading the charge, the Ole Miss Rebels head coach believes the Longhorns possess one of the best rosters in America, and they’re going to be competitive in their first season after coming over from the Big 12 Conference, which Kiffin believes prepared them well.

“Yeah, I mean, they were in the Final Four last year and a lot of players coming back and added — continued to add great high school players and portal players. So I think they’re one of the elite rosters in America,” Kiffin said, regarding Texas’ chances at finishing high in the SEC during their first season in the conference. “You know, Sark would know well the challenges, so it’s not like he’s coming with the team in the SEC with the coach that hasn’t been, so I think he understands that.

“That conference was competitive too, so he had tough games there and tough places to play on the road there. This is just — it’s just different. The SEC is really challenging. Study road records and study road records at night in the SEC and why do those percentages change. They’re really good players, but they’re really hard places to play with electric atmospheres that are challenging to play in. So you just come in this conference you get that more.”

Of course, Kiffin has a past with Sarkisian, and he recognizes how the Texas leader has been able to be successful in rebuilding the program. The feeling is mutual for Sarkisian though, as he elaborated on his feelings on the Ole Miss coach during SEC Media Days.

“We do. We worked together. We fought together. We fought against each other. We’ve coached against one another,” Sarkisian said, regarding his extensive history with Kiffin. “And when I went to Alabama as the analyst, he was the offensive coordinator. It’s just a lot of this.

“Lane’s done a great job at Ole Miss. I can’t give him enough credit. The job that he’s done. They’ve got a very good football team. He’s recruited really well. He’s got the right pieces in place. And they’re poised for a heck of a run for sure.”

Texas and Ole Miss aren’t slated to play during the Longhorns’ first season in the SEC, but that could always change if both teams live up to their expectations. Whenever Lane Kiffin and Steve Sarkisian face off again, it’ll be a must-see matchup, for sure.