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Ole Miss

Opposing coaches dish on Ole Miss' transfer portal activity

Barkley-Truaxby:Barkley Truax•06/24/24•

BarkleyTruax

NCAA Football: Peach Bowl-Mississippi at Penn State
Ole Miss head coach Lane Kiffin shown at the end of the game against the Penn State Nittany Lions during the second half at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports

Few teams have utilized the transfer portal the way Ole Miss has under Lane Kiffin over the past three seasons.

One of, if not the first head coach to completely embrace the new landscape of college football, Kiffin has landed some instant-impact transfer portal talents over the past three years while maintaining a strong recruiting class in each of those seasons.

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Not only did Kiffin secure the No. 1 transfer portal class during the first offseason of the automatic transfer rule, he has pieced together a top 10 class in the two seasons since, according to the On3 Transfer Portal Team Rankings. On3 also has Kiffin’s traditional recruiting classes ranked within the nation’s top 25 during that span as well.

“There’s so much turnover there in terms of players, it’s hard to win consistently at a high level. Lane Kiffin will give some people some fits,” one anonymous coach said. “But two or three times a year, Ole Miss doesn’t look like the same team, to be honest.”

Ole Miss is coming of a record-setting 11-2 season in 2023 that was capped with a Peach Bowl victory. It was the second time in two seasons that Kiffin led the Rebels to a 10-win season.

However, just because Ole Miss lands a bevy of blue-chip talent doesn’t mean they’ll fit into Kiffin’s scheme, as another coach explained.

“Every portal guy that comes in brings his culture with him,” the coach said. “He doesn’t always adapt to your culture. What kind of effect does that have on the locker room? Michigan State one year struck gold (in the portal). The next year, disaster.”

If one thing is for sure, Ole Miss is expected to boast one of the most potent offenses in the country once again under Kiffin. Quarterback Jaxson Dart — who came to Ole Miss from USC in the transfer portal during the 2022 offseason — has been the leader of that effort .

“Lane is always good at quarterback. He always does what his quarterback can do,” a third coach said. “He helped Alabama make the national championship game (2014) with Blake Sims at quarterback. And he won a national championship (2015) with Jacob Coker, who was not exceptional but very smart. Lane figures out a way to make quarterbacks good.”

Since the College Football Playoff’s expanded 12-team format is being implemented this season, Kiffin and company fell they are legitimate contenders for the national championship this season.