Ole Miss Rebels Head Coach Lane Kiffin.
December in college football has become a Multiverse of Madness—the current and future seasons melding as some teams and players are focused on closing out 2024 strong, and others are eyeing the transfer portal and the future.
Lane Kiffin and his staff are hard at work building the 2025 roster, and the Ole Miss players are doing their part as well, as many quickly announced their intentions to play in the TaxSlayer Gator Bowl on January 2 against Duke.
“Kind of an interesting time with a lot of things going on,” Kiffin said. “We’re trying to practice a long time before the bowls, so just more general practices, not specific to the opponent. And then at the same time, you know, the keeping of our own players in free agency and then bringing other ones in for their visits, trying to add to our roster next year. It’s just a very strange schedule. And our guys have basically all stayed, fortunately. I do feel for the people that are trying to prepare for a bowl game and they got their significant players going to other teams before they even play.”
Locked In
Ole Miss had College Football Playoff aspirations this season, so when the Rebels fell just a couple of spots short of that goal, many assumed that they would check out and turn their attention to the NFL—but that simply hasn’t been the case.
The Rebels have had just one NFL Draft opt-out, while numerous notables, including Jaxon Dart, JJ Pegues, Walter Nolen, and Jordan Watkins have publicly announced their intentions to close it out in Jacksonville after the New Year.
“I think that says a lot,” Kiffin said. “It says a lot about the culture in that locker room, a lot about how they feel about each other. A number of those guys have very high draft grades and they’re still playing. Even if you look at New Year’s six bowl games, including ours, who we played against last year, a number of people not playing in it, it says a lot, so I’m very appreciative of them and commend them for that.”
Opt Outs Everywhere
As Kiffin alluded to, even the College Football Playoff teams aren’t immune to opt-outs. It was highly publicized that CPF qualifier Penn State‘s second-string quarterback pulled out of the postseason to enter the portal.
Ole Miss’ bowl opponent, Duke, is included in the madness. The Blue Devils‘ starting quarterback, Maalik Murphy, opted out of the bowl and into the portal after throwing for 2,933 yards and 26 touchdowns this season. As did sophomore Grayson Loftis, who was listed as the co-backup alongside Henry Belin IV, who will now start the Gator Bowl. Kiffin credits his QB for helping set the opposite trend in the Manning Center.
“When Jaxson came out and said he was playing right away, I think that impacted these other guys too to want to play,” Kiffin said. “When your quarterback says he isn’t, then it’s easier for other people not to. I’ve said it up here a million times about the guy’s legacy—what do you leave when you leave somewhere? And I think he even said it, he wanted to leave this place better than when he got here. And he certainly has.”
