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The Ole Miss Rebels took a unique approach to their 2024 Spring Game, making it more about enjoying the celebration of spring practice’s close and entertaining the fans without risking injury to star players.
Rather than the typical scrimmage, Lane Kiffin opted for a variety of fun inner-squad competitions, some related to the upcoming football season and some not.
Those challenges included a hot dog eating contest with Joey Chestnut, a slam dunk competition, a 7-on-7 flag football game, and Tug of War.
Many saw it as a great way to spice up the event for viewers while rewarding players following a month of hard work.
When you look at spring games at what they truly are, glorified scrimmages that are open to the public, it makes sense to create an exciting environment.
But you’ll always get some sort of blowback when moving away from the more traditional approach.
The Rebels saw that when esteemed college football insider Phil Steele gave his “grumpy old man” take on what he saw as a gimmick in Oxford.
“Just watched the Ole Miss ‘Spring Game,'” he wrote on X after tuning in. “Got very little out of it… Not worth watching, don’t waste your time.”
Just watched the Ole Miss “Spring Game”. Got very little out of it. Dunk contest, Tug of war, Hot dog eating contest, obstacle course, no pads during 7 on 7 flag football game, 50 yard field. Not worth watching, don’t waste your time.
— Phil Steele (@philsteele042) April 15, 2024
For diehard football viewers, that may be true. For the casual fan just looking to enjoy the experience while also getting a small glimpse of the team’s on-field progress, maybe not.
In fact, many would probably say it beats watching 3rd- and 4th-string players go up and down the field after that opening series with the starters comes to a close!
As it turns out, Steele spent his entire weekend watching various spring games around the country, potentially researching for his popular college football preview magazine.
Ole Miss’s game was the one he was most critical of.
The setup is apparently not for everyone, though it appeared most in attendance enjoyed the event. And considering the Rebs were able to get some work in while avoiding any unnecessary injuries to star players, I’m sure they’d call the day a success.
With Ole Miss moving past the spring game, the focus will soon become set on the 2024 season. Kiffin’s bunch is expected to be a College Football Playoff contender, returning experience in key areas while having also bolstered the roster with a top transfer portal class.
They’ll kick off the campaign in late August with a season-opening contest against Furman.