Lane Kiffin, an avid angler, is completely unbothered by his star running back’s decision to enter the transfer portal. He was on a boat somewhere in the Atlantic Ocean enjoying a day on the water.
Quinshon Judkins, arguably the premier ball-carrier in the SEC, announced his decision to leave Ole Miss on Thursday. It came as a shock to the vast majority of fans and analysts alike.
However, as more information came out about the move, there was not a lot of surprise among the staff in Oxford. The Rebels and Judkins were apparently trending toward a mutual parting of ways over the course of the 2023/24 college football season.
Based on an illuminating repost by Walker Jones, Executive Director of The Grove Collective, money was most certainly a factor in the separation. Judkins and his camp were in the process of renegotiating his NIL package for next year (which will likely be his final season before declaring for the NFL) and may have set a price tag that far exceeded the number that Ole Miss’ top NIL arm was willing to pay.
It apparently went far beyond the financial component as well. There was a lot of frustration surrounding Judkins within the program, but his talent afforded patience.
Sources say that there were chemistry issues between starting quarterback Jaxson Dart, other offensive players, and Judkins. The levee ultimately broke during the Peach Bowl.
Dart supposedly requested that Lane Kiffin take Judkins out of the game against Penn State. That request may have occurred in this moment:
It all makes sense now… pic.twitter.com/NLZJT3xb4H
— Kÿłé (@OleMissFB3) January 4, 2024
As a result of the “locker room conflict,” when the Judkins camp went back to the Grove Collective with additional requests beyond what had already been discussed, Ole Miss’ side chose not to continue discussions. The running back chose to leave. Both parties are comfortable with the separation.
Lane Kiffin is not worried.
This entire saga was not out of nowhere. Lane Kiffin and his staff were prepared for this to happen.
They hope to get Ulysses Bentley IV back for one final season. They also have their eyes on a running back in the transfer portal or soon to enter the portal, though it is unclear as to who it might be.
Perhaps the move to replace Judkins is already in place? Ole Miss has used “fishing” and “sharks” as a metaphor for its recruitment through the transfer portal over the last few weeks.
Kiffin had a fish on the line in the Bahamas not long after his starting running back departed.
There is a chance that the metaphor was not attached to Kiffin’s fishing expedition because he literally caught — and released — a shark. But maybe that was also an unintentionally intentional analogy?
Kiffin knows exactly the message he was sending…!
Regardless of what the shark means or doesn’t mean, the head football coach at the University of Mississippi is completely unbothered by Judkins’ decision.