Kiffin and No. 6 Ole Miss are trying to avoid the 'rat poison' of high expectations

Lane Kiffin is no stranger to being part of a highly ranked team high on talent and with expectations to match.

It’s less familiar territory at Mississippi, where rampant preseason hype hasn’t typically been an issue.

It certainly is now.

The Rebels are coming off their first 11-win season and are No. 6 in the preseason Associated Press Top 25, their highest initial ranking since Archie Manning's days in 1970. Kiffin doesn’t want his players getting caught up in all that hoopla, following the “rat poison” approach of his former boss Nick Saban at Alabama.

“Even players who have had previous success here or other places, that doesn’t mean anything either,” he said. “Just making sure that they understand ... how that means nothing and those can always be exact opposite a lot of times from what happens at the end of the year.”

There is reason for excitement for a program coming off its second New Year’s Six bowl appearance in three years. Quarterback Jaxson Dart is back for his third year as starter and has a group of wide receivers led by Tre Harris, Jordan Watkins and South Carolina transfer Antwane Wells.

Kiffin and the Rebels also got a huge boost with 23 Division I transfers, including Southeastern Conference defensive linemen Walter Nolen (Texas A&M) and Princely Umanmielen (Florida) and former Washington offensive linemen Nate Kalepo and Julius Buelow.

Replacing Judkins

The biggest offseason blow for the Rebels came when star tailback Quinshon Judkins left for Ohio State. Judkins was already third on the program’s career rushing charts after just two seasons. Ulysses Bentley IV was the No. 2 rusher last season with 540 yards. Henry Parrish Jr. returns for his second stint at Ole MIss after leading Miami in rushing each of the past two seasons and other transfers could play significant roles, too.

Receivers galore

Dart may just have the best collection of targets in the SEC. Harris is the big star after racking up 985 yards and eight touchdowns. Watkins had 741 receiving yards last season while tight end Caden Prieskorn caught 30 passes. Wells missed most of his final season at South Carolina with a foot injury but had 68 catches for 928 yards and six touchdowns in 2022.

Golding's second season

Defensive coordinator Pete Golding got some big reinforcements for his second season after arriving from Alabama. The defense did make strides last season.

Key players like linebacker Suntarine Perkins, defensive end Jared Ivey and safety John Saunders Jr. return. Golding’s group gets big boosts from portal pickups like former prized recruit Nolen, pass rusher Umanmielen, linebacker Chris Paul Jr. from Arkansas and cornerback Trey Amos from Alabama.

Have the Rebels caught up to traditional powers?

For all their success under Kiffin, the Rebels haven’t been able to match SEC powers like Georgia and Alabama (and now Texas) with their hauls of five-star recruits. Kiffin is hoping those portal pickups have helped close the talent gap.

“I think we’ve answered a lot of those questions,” he said. “When you go out there and watch us, we look more like what Alabama and Georgia look like over the last four years when we go warm up against them. That doesn’t mean we’re going to win.”

The schedule

Ole Miss appears to have a manageable path into October, with the top opponent figuring to be Kentucky (Sept. 28). But road games include LSU (Oct. 12) and Florida (Nov. 23). Alabama isn't on the schedule with divisions gone by the wayside, but Georgia visits on Nov. 9.