Lane Kiffin is used to being part of a top-ranked team with lots of talent and big expectations.
At Mississippi, though, this level of hype is new. Usually, the team hasn’t had to deal with such high expectations before.
This time, things are different.
The Rebels are coming off their first 11-win season and are ranked No. 6 in the preseason Associated Press Top 25, their best starting rank since Archie Manning’s time in 1970. Kiffin wants his players to stay focused and not get distracted by all the excitement, using the “rat poison” strategy from 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 a lot to be excited about for a team coming off its second New Year’s Six bowl appearance in three years.
Quarterback Jaxson Dart is returning for his third year as the starter and will be working with a group of wide receivers including Tre Harris, Jordan Watkins, and South Carolina transfer Antwane Wells.
Kiffin and the Rebels also made a significant addition with 23 Division I transfers, including Southeastern Conference defensive linemen Walter Nolen (Texas A&M) and Princely Umanmielen (Florida), along with former Washington offensive linemen Nate Kalepo and Julius Buelow.
