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Lane Kiffin trolls Florida after low-scoring spring game

ns_headshot_2024-clearby:Nick Schultz•04/13/23•

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Lane Kiffin
Justin Ford / Stringer PhotoG/Getty

Spring football is still going strong, but it appears Lane Kiffin is in mid-season form on Twitter. The Ole Miss head coach was tuned in to Florida’s Orange and Blue spring game Thursday night — and he was back to his trolling ways afterward.

The game was 7-7 late in the fourth quarter and the Orange team wound up winning on essentially a walk-off field goal. The Florida offenses didn’t seem to get much going, but the defense showed up.

Kiffin made sure to note the score in his postgame tweet, which featured two — obviously sarcastic — fire emojis.

Thursday’s spring game was the punctuation mark on Florida’s spring practice. The Gators open the 2023 season against Utah Aug. 31.

As for Ole Miss, the Rebels are getting ready for their spring game on Saturday, which should draw plenty of attention given the ongoing quarterback competition in Oxford. Ole Miss already had Jaxson Dart back for another season, but Kiffin and the staff dove back into the transfer portal to bring in Spencer Sanders from Oklahoma State and Walker Howard from LSU. That’s generated plenty of conversation not just at Ole Miss, but across college football.

Billy Napier on his impressions of Florida’s spring game: ‘Unbelievable experience and opportunity for this group’

Florida’s also in the midst of a quarterback competition as Wisconsin transfer Graham Mertz and last year’s backup Jack Miller vie for the stating job. They both looked solid in Thursday’s Orange and Blue game. Mertz threw for 244 yards and a touchdown while Miller had 144 yards and a touchdown in the game.

There are also plenty of newcomers on board as Billy Napier gets ready for his second season at the helm. Florida had 27 early enrollees take part in the spring game, and he shared his initial impressions of the new-look group as the fourth quarter winded down.

“Lot of young players getting an opportunity to play,” Napier told ESPN’s Pete Thamel. “New players, right. Overall, the defense made a lot harder. Certainly, you’ve got to be pleased with that given where we were as a team. Unbelievable experience and opportunity for this group. Great film to teach and learn from and looking forward to that opportunity on Monday.”

The next phase of Florida’s quarterback competition will take place in fall camp as the Gators get ready for the regular season after a 6-7 record in 2022.