.png&width=32&height=32&type=webp)
The University of Mississippi Athletics
Football Begins Spring Practice, Kiffin Meets With Media
3/6/2024 | Football
OXFORD, Miss. – Ole Miss football officially kicked off spring camp with an hour-and-a-half practice Wednesday morning at the Manning Center outdoor fields.
Ole Miss returns 60 letterwinners from last year's squad that finished the season with an 11-2 mark, including a 38-25 win over No. 10 Penn State in the 2023 Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl. It was the first 11-win campaign in the 129-season history of Rebel football. The Rebels finished the 2023 season ranked No. 9, their highest final AP poll ranking since 1969 when they finished eighth.
Spring practice will culminate with the annual Grove Bowl, April 13. Kickoff is set for 3 p.m. CT. Fan events and general gameday information will be announced in the weeks ahead. Join our interest list and be the first to know as additional details are announced.
Lane Kiffin met with members of the media following Wednesday's first practice of the spring.
Opening statement:
"I know this was kind of last minute on you guys about scheduling, but kind of why we did that is just really listening to players and where we're at from an install standpoint. We have so many new guys and, you know, we've kind of erred on the side of really not practicing quite as much or as long in the spring than we used to. Even last year, we didn't even do the last three allowed practices. We just kind of were talking and went ahead and started a little early here to get two of them in today and Friday before spring break to get us a feel of where we're at. They'll have spring break off and then come back and continue practices. It was good to be out there with them. We do have a lot of guys, which I'm not going to go through the list, but a lot of injuries and off-season surgeries. It gives a lot of opportunities to other guys to be able to play out there. We're definitely not at full strength, which is fine because we don't play games right now.
"Like I told our guys, we have a really good roster. I understand there's a lot of preseason hype around it and all that stuff, but that doesn't mean we're a good team just because we have a good roster. We have a roster that would certainly look like the best one since we've been here probably by far because you have so many returning pieces from last year. Then you add in additions of other pieces that have been starters at other places and been really good players. It's a really good roster which you guys would talk a lot about, but that does not mean we're a good team. It's a lot of work. That's a lot of culture building for that to happen because you guys have all seen in this sport, different sports, these really good rosters put together in the off-season, whether that's the NBA or NFL, does not always translate to wins."
On adding Zach Arnett as an analyst on staff:
"I've had a lot of respect for Zach and thought they did a great job over there in Starkville during his time on defense and caused people problems. There had been discussions. Actually today, I think, is his first day. But you know, I've always learned from Coach [Nick] Saban, it's a two-way street. It's both ways of you give people opportunities and they get to come learn from you. It's exciting that we kind of have another what you would call a big name, probably happening here soon also to add to our staff. I think that shows people wanting to come here and be a part of it, but also shows we don't just hire anybody because there were head coaches. It's people that we think are really knowledgeable in the conference and as coaches in general, to add to our staff. This was a really good fit in that way. He came down, met with myself, met with Coach Golding, and we're excited to put him in the defensive room and especially with conference knowledge. It should be really good."
On establishing chemistry in the spring:
"I think I had a good handle on it, then they made unlimited transfers. There was a system that NCAA put in place. I said in the SEC meetings that college football, in regards to the portal and NIL, is a disaster. I said that last year, and then they really changed the major thing in the system and now everybody can transfer multiple times. That creates really different ways of going about this. Now you have to worry about losing all your guys twice a year because, as of now, there are two windows. So, I think that you could have had a plan. Maybe you could say our last year's plan worked well because we won 11 games and were very portal heavy. Now you have to adjust again. It is what it is until they figure out some semblance of a system that would model professional sports. These would be employees and they would have real contracts and everybody would know. Until then, you just have this. I know it sounds strange because I would take this out of it. I'm the first to admit that Ole Miss, as much as anybody, benefits from the transfer portal and the system. I'm telling you even with that and how much it helps us personally, it is a disaster and it got worse. So, it is what it is. We'll just always continue to adjust as they continue to make the system worse."
On the team having some buzz with the new roster additions:
"I think just because you do have the first year here really where you have this combination of influx of talent plus a lot of really good returners. I don't think we've really had that. So, there's not a lot of holes to replace. Normally, between the NFL Draft, senior eligibility and the people leaving in the portal, you have a lot of starters to replace and a lot of significant players to replace. We don't have that. There's only a few combined between the NFL, which we only had four guys go to the combine, and then really basically losing Q [Judkins] in the portal as the only significant player. So, that's not a lot of spots to fill. So, there was excitement out there. Again, it looks really good as a roster, but we have a lot of work to do."
On getting the chemistry right:
"We spent a ton of time on it. Bringing in people in, talking about culture, labeling culture, having different levels of culture. You've probably seen the Culture One hoodies that a few people in the building have. We spend a lot of time on this because it's always been important, but talent, you guys know I'm realistic in what I say, talent can override culture. I don't care what people say. You get a super talented, great, elite, talented team, they can be lesser players out of culture. But culture is very important, especially when it's close. And now it's more important to redo your culture every year because your roster is turning over. Half your roster is turning over. I just think it's really important even though we have so many pieces coming back and really good leadership, we're not banking on that. We're just restarting and this team is zero-and-zero. Everybody in this program from myself to the quarterback is zero-and-zero. That's how we've restarted this thing.
On Jaxson Dart:
"Jaxson threw seven-on-seven today and some routes on air. He did have an off-season procedure and he's very limited movement wise. It is good. It's a lower body issue, so he can still throw like I said in the seven-on-seven issue. So, I think he'll continue to get back. The benefit is the other people getting reps and being able to play a lot. In that absence, I think that Walker [Howard] and Austin [Simmons], even coming back from playing baseball and coming over here, they've done a great job."
Ole Miss returns 60 letterwinners from last year's squad that finished the season with an 11-2 mark, including a 38-25 win over No. 10 Penn State in the 2023 Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl. It was the first 11-win campaign in the 129-season history of Rebel football. The Rebels finished the 2023 season ranked No. 9, their highest final AP poll ranking since 1969 when they finished eighth.
Spring practice will culminate with the annual Grove Bowl, April 13. Kickoff is set for 3 p.m. CT. Fan events and general gameday information will be announced in the weeks ahead. Join our interest list and be the first to know as additional details are announced.
Lane Kiffin met with members of the media following Wednesday's first practice of the spring.
Opening statement:
"I know this was kind of last minute on you guys about scheduling, but kind of why we did that is just really listening to players and where we're at from an install standpoint. We have so many new guys and, you know, we've kind of erred on the side of really not practicing quite as much or as long in the spring than we used to. Even last year, we didn't even do the last three allowed practices. We just kind of were talking and went ahead and started a little early here to get two of them in today and Friday before spring break to get us a feel of where we're at. They'll have spring break off and then come back and continue practices. It was good to be out there with them. We do have a lot of guys, which I'm not going to go through the list, but a lot of injuries and off-season surgeries. It gives a lot of opportunities to other guys to be able to play out there. We're definitely not at full strength, which is fine because we don't play games right now.
"Like I told our guys, we have a really good roster. I understand there's a lot of preseason hype around it and all that stuff, but that doesn't mean we're a good team just because we have a good roster. We have a roster that would certainly look like the best one since we've been here probably by far because you have so many returning pieces from last year. Then you add in additions of other pieces that have been starters at other places and been really good players. It's a really good roster which you guys would talk a lot about, but that does not mean we're a good team. It's a lot of work. That's a lot of culture building for that to happen because you guys have all seen in this sport, different sports, these really good rosters put together in the off-season, whether that's the NBA or NFL, does not always translate to wins."
On adding Zach Arnett as an analyst on staff:
"I've had a lot of respect for Zach and thought they did a great job over there in Starkville during his time on defense and caused people problems. There had been discussions. Actually today, I think, is his first day. But you know, I've always learned from Coach [Nick] Saban, it's a two-way street. It's both ways of you give people opportunities and they get to come learn from you. It's exciting that we kind of have another what you would call a big name, probably happening here soon also to add to our staff. I think that shows people wanting to come here and be a part of it, but also shows we don't just hire anybody because there were head coaches. It's people that we think are really knowledgeable in the conference and as coaches in general, to add to our staff. This was a really good fit in that way. He came down, met with myself, met with Coach Golding, and we're excited to put him in the defensive room and especially with conference knowledge. It should be really good."
On establishing chemistry in the spring:
"I think I had a good handle on it, then they made unlimited transfers. There was a system that NCAA put in place. I said in the SEC meetings that college football, in regards to the portal and NIL, is a disaster. I said that last year, and then they really changed the major thing in the system and now everybody can transfer multiple times. That creates really different ways of going about this. Now you have to worry about losing all your guys twice a year because, as of now, there are two windows. So, I think that you could have had a plan. Maybe you could say our last year's plan worked well because we won 11 games and were very portal heavy. Now you have to adjust again. It is what it is until they figure out some semblance of a system that would model professional sports. These would be employees and they would have real contracts and everybody would know. Until then, you just have this. I know it sounds strange because I would take this out of it. I'm the first to admit that Ole Miss, as much as anybody, benefits from the transfer portal and the system. I'm telling you even with that and how much it helps us personally, it is a disaster and it got worse. So, it is what it is. We'll just always continue to adjust as they continue to make the system worse."
On the team having some buzz with the new roster additions:
"I think just because you do have the first year here really where you have this combination of influx of talent plus a lot of really good returners. I don't think we've really had that. So, there's not a lot of holes to replace. Normally, between the NFL Draft, senior eligibility and the people leaving in the portal, you have a lot of starters to replace and a lot of significant players to replace. We don't have that. There's only a few combined between the NFL, which we only had four guys go to the combine, and then really basically losing Q [Judkins] in the portal as the only significant player. So, that's not a lot of spots to fill. So, there was excitement out there. Again, it looks really good as a roster, but we have a lot of work to do."
On getting the chemistry right:
"We spent a ton of time on it. Bringing in people in, talking about culture, labeling culture, having different levels of culture. You've probably seen the Culture One hoodies that a few people in the building have. We spend a lot of time on this because it's always been important, but talent, you guys know I'm realistic in what I say, talent can override culture. I don't care what people say. You get a super talented, great, elite, talented team, they can be lesser players out of culture. But culture is very important, especially when it's close. And now it's more important to redo your culture every year because your roster is turning over. Half your roster is turning over. I just think it's really important even though we have so many pieces coming back and really good leadership, we're not banking on that. We're just restarting and this team is zero-and-zero. Everybody in this program from myself to the quarterback is zero-and-zero. That's how we've restarted this thing.
On Jaxson Dart:
"Jaxson threw seven-on-seven today and some routes on air. He did have an off-season procedure and he's very limited movement wise. It is good. It's a lower body issue, so he can still throw like I said in the seven-on-seven issue. So, I think he'll continue to get back. The benefit is the other people getting reps and being able to play a lot. In that absence, I think that Walker [Howard] and Austin [Simmons], even coming back from playing baseball and coming over here, they've done a great job."
Players Mentioned
QB
/ FootballPRESSER | Fiesta Bowl Postgame vs. Miami (01-08-26)
Friday, January 09
HIGHLIGHTS: FB vs. Miami (CFP) (1-8-2026)
Friday, January 09
PRESSER | Pete Golding - Joint Fiesta Bowl Press Conference (01-07-26)
Wednesday, January 07
PRESSER | Trinidad Chambliss - Fiesta Bowl Media Day (01-06-26)
Wednesday, January 07