Head Coach Lane Kiffin’s hire at Ole Miss brought immediate name recognition and national attention to Oxford for months, but with all that attention comes expectations, starting with recruiting.
Kiffin’s arrival signaled what fans thought would be an instant jump on the recruiting trail. That has partly been true with Ole Miss recently signing prospects like Demon Clowney and Henry Parrish.
However, the Rebels missed out on several high-profile prospects like four-star lineman Marcus Henderson, receiver Malachi Wideman and defensive backs Donovan Kaufman and Daran Branch on National Signing Day.
Ole Miss finished with the No. 39-ranked recruiting class, toward the bottom of the SEC and below usual bottom-feeder Arkansas, so is it time for Ole Miss fans to be concerned?
When looking at this class, it’s important to remember that this is a transition class, and while Kiffin is known as an expert recruiter, a few months on the job is hardly enough time to bring in an above-average class. The goal was to maintain prospects that were committed to Matt Luke’s coaching staff, and Kiffin has mostly achieved that while bringing in better talent at the top of the class.
“We lost some kids, obviously — like everybody does — but going back over the kids, a lot of that was relationship based, losing out to people who had longer relationships with kids,” Kiffin said. “We look forward to getting started on next year’s class and having a whole year.”
Ole Miss fans should take solace in the fact that Kiffin and his staff will have a full year to evaluate and develop their recruiting board without having to worry about adjusting to the new positions and evaluating players while on the road during crunch time of the recruiting season.
Kiffin noted in his press conference on Wednesday that he’s still getting used to the campus and city, saying he just found out where the location of Swayze Field when asked how he’d handle dual-sport athletes John Rhys Plumlee and Jerrion Ealy.
Kiffin said he saw Ealy walking on campus and turned to give him a ride. When Ealy said he was headed to Swayze, Kiffin had no idea where to go.
“I kept taking wrong turns and he said ‘do you know where the baseball stadium is coach’ and I’m like ‘I have no idea,” Kiffin said. “I didn’t even know about it, but it was a beautiful looking stadium.”
The class of 2021 will look more like a Lane Kiffin recruiting class as the off-season goes on, so the judgement on Kiffin’s recruiting in the SEC should be delayed for at least a year.
“Everybody gets up here and says, ‘This is the best class ever.’ Every coach says that,” Kiffin said. “This is a good class with some really good players. We’ll sign better classes every year that we’re here.”
