The Flagship: How Lane Kiffin and Ole Miss football stole the show to open SEC Media Days
Ole Miss football’s Lane Kiffin, Jaxson Dart, Tre Harris and Jared Ivey stole the show Monday at SEC Media Days — first in arriving in style, and later in embracing, in their own, unique way, an expectations-filled 2024-25 campaign.
Jake Thompson served as the The Ole Miss Spirit’s boots on the ground for the the league’s annual kickoff event in Dallas, Texas. He joined Zach Berry for a Tuesday (July 16, 2024) edition of ‘The Flagship,’ powered by College Corner, to discuss everything that went down and all you might have missed.
“Ole Miss was kind of the belle of the ball, maybe just out of curiosity” Thompson said.
“It’s a lot of newness. Ole Miss, historically, isn’t used to being in the Georgia, Alabama-type level of conversation on July 15. That’s what they were.
“(SEC Network analyst) Jordan Rogers said Dart was his pick for the Heisman. Or one of the two. It’s a testament — and it was kind of Lane’s theme — to (Ole Mis pulling) good guys from the portal, but you’re bringing them in with guys that stayed. You’ve got a roster full of good guys.
“Now, there’s depth (Ole Miss) has to get sorted out. But your 1s and 1Bs are there for all this hype to be justified.”
Ole Miss won a program-record 11 games last season. The Rebels open the year with Furman August 31. Dart, who has the sixth-best odds for the Heisman, has 6,338 passing yards for his Rebel career. He’s fifth in school history.
Eli Manning (10,119) is first, followed by Bo Wallace (9,534), Matt Corral (8,287) and Chad Kelly (6,800).
“It’s kind of put-up or shut-up this year,” Thompson said. “It’s big-picture expectations. You better be playing a first or second-round game of the playoffs or all this was for naught.
“They’ve embraced that.”
WATCH/LISTEN: Ole Miss star defender Jared and his ‘Ivey League’ do Dallas/SEC Media Days ‘24
