Getty Image / Tim Warner
Ole Miss Head Coach Lane Kiffin has ushered in a golden age of Rebel football in Oxford, Mississippi. A program more known for its tailgating has become one of the better programs in the SEC, with serious SEC title aspirations this year.
To win SEC titles, you’ve got to get by Georgia and Alabama, two programs that Lane Kiffin has not been able to beat yet in his time at Ole Miss. But, at SEC Media Days on Monday, Kiffin thinks that he might have found the ingredient Ole Miss was lacking to beat the two powers.
Last year. Ole Miss capped off a fantastic 11-2 season with a win over a depleted Penn State team in the Peach Bowl. But, their two losses were to Alabama and Georgia by a combined 49 points. While Ole Miss seemed just as talented as the other eleven teams on the schedule, they were dominated in the trenches in both losses by bigger and stronger players.
The Rebels brought in arguably the nation’s best transfer portal class, and Lane Kiffin claims that group is going to help them get bigger and longer, two things that he felt held them back.
“Kiffin says Ole Miss has had a “length and size issue” when facing Alabama and Georgia in the past. Also said that it was “particularly glaring” when the Rebels faced Georgia last year in Athens. Kiffin believes Ole Miss addressed that issue in the portal this offseason” Graham Coffey tweeted out.
Coach Kiffin is almost certainly correct. Even compared to other top programs, the freaks on the defensive line especially for Alabama and Georgia year in and year out.
Ole Miss addressed their defensive line in a huge way in the portal, led by former number-one overall recruit Walter Nolen, a defensive tackle that was at Texas A&M. Nolen is one of the biggest physical freaks in all of college football. At 6-foot-4 290lb, Nolen is a huge mismatch problem. And, their other big portal addition on the defensive line, Princely Umanmielen, has great length as well at 6-5, will hold up nicely at 255lb, and the Florida transfer was a Second Team All-SEC selection last year.
They’ve brought in some nice additions on the offensive line like Diego Pounds, Nate Kalepo, and Julius Buelow. These are the types of players Lane Kiffin was referring to when he said they addressed that issue.
They don’t play the Crimson Tide on their regular season schedule this year, and do get Georgia at home. If they’ve improved in the trenches, they could find themselves in Atlanta for their first SEC Championship Game appearance.
Kiffin, entering his fifth year at Ole Miss, is mourning the loss of his dad and defensive guru coaching legend, Monte, who passed away last week.