Ole Miss 'Legit Threat' in 2024 College Football Playoff?
OXFORD, Miss. -- The Ole Miss Rebels raided the NCAA Transfer Portal early this offseason, and Lane Kiffin's haul of talented players has fans and the media dreaming about the possible outcomes for the 2024 college football season.
Kiffin has been active in the portal ever since he was hired by Ole Miss, but he and his staff took it to another level this offseason, as the Rebels currently boast the No. 3 transfer class in the country, according to On3 rankings.
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Thanks to Kiffin's ability to be successful in the new age of college football recruitment, Ole Miss is in a perfect position to be a "legit threat" in the 12-team playoff starting in 2024, according to On3's Zach Berry.
"[The portal has] been Kiffin’s way of bridging that gap between the tier 1 SEC and tier 1 national programs, to make not only Ole Miss relevant but a dark horse playoff team," Berry said. "Now I think there is no dark horse anymore. They are a legit threat to the College Football Playoff."
This space at The Grove Report has also been adamant on that front. Publisher John Macon Gillespie recently did a deep dive into Ole Miss' history this millennium with quarterbacks entering their third season in Oxford, illustrating that when each instance comes to pass, the program takes a step forward in its achievements.
"Jaxson Dart already took a noticeable jump in his second and third year total of college football," Gillespie wrote, "but if these trends indicate anything, it's that the longer you're in the starting quarterback role, the more your team buys in. The more your team buys in, the higher the ceiling can be in a given season.
"It's obvious that the Ole Miss locker room believes in Dart's grit and leadership, but after an 11-2 season in 2023, just how high can the Rebels go in the fall? If Dart has anything to say about it, pretty high."
The hype is real for the Rebels, and Kiffin is not finished adding to his roster. Ole Miss received commitments from transfer defensive backs Brandon Turnage and Trey Amos on Friday. The Rebels are also set to host Washington Huskies transfer defensive end commit B.J. Green II and former Washington offensive tackle Nate Kalepo next week.
