Ole Miss' Jaxson Dart Reveals Lane Kiffin's Strength in Transfer Portal Recruiting

The Ole Miss Rebels are once again hitting the transfer portal hard in an attempt to bring more talent to Oxford for the 2025 season.

Sep 7, 2024; Oxford, Mississippi, USA; Mississippi Rebels quarterback Jaxson Dart (2) talks with head coach Lane Kiffin on the sideline during the first half against the Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Petre Thomas-Imagn Images / Petre Thomas-Imagn Images

Ole Miss Rebels head coach Lane Kiffin has been dubbed "The Portal King" for a reason.

Since the transfer portal's advent, Kiffin has taken advantage of the transfer market to help build his roster each season, and the 2025 cycle is shaping up to be more of the same. As of this writing, Ole Miss has secured eight commitments out of the portal in December, including a pair of new faces joining the fold in the last couple of days.

The portal also helped Kiffin land his quarterback in Jaxson Dart prior to the 2022 season when the gunslinger transferred in from USC. On Tuesday, Dart was made available to the media where he discussed what he believes makes Kiffin so successful in transfer portal recruiting and why he opted to come to Ole Miss.

"I just think because he's real. He's honest," Dart said. "There are a lot of coaches who aren't that way in the portal. You kind of see the product that he puts out there on the field. I really liked what he did with Matt Corral, especially him being a West Coast kid, so I felt like I could relate to that a little bit.

"I felt like we just clicked early on, and he had a good vision for me and what he saw that I could achieve here. That's something that I bought into really early. Our connection early on was the main piece for me coming here."

It's obvious that this duo "clicked" early, and they have continued to do so in the years since. As Dart's Ole Miss career has wound down (he has one game remaining to play), Kiffin and his quarterback have shared high praise for one another and the impact they have had on each other's life.

"I love Coach Kiff," Dart said after Ole Miss' win in the Egg Bowl. "He brought me in, had a vision for me, helped develop me into the player I am today. Our relationship has just grown so much. I love him to death, and I'd go to war for him any day of the week.

"You try to come in and make your coaches happy. I tried to do that every single day, and I'm just very thankful for him, and I love him."

It was after that Egg Bowl that Kiffin and Dart shared an emotional embrace on the field as they reflected on their time together in Oxford.

"Just tried to help him keep it together because he cares, man," Kiffin said postgame. "He cares about this team. He cares about this university, and that doesn't happen much in college football anymore. This guy's special. I hope people appreciate that.

"It really wasn't a planned thing. I usually walk off pretty quick. I just wanted to find him and tell him how much I appreciate him. He just said he loved me and started crying, so that kind of got to me. I was trying to be the coach and get him to stop crying. But that's who he is, man. That's a lost generation in college football now."

If Kiffin can connect with players on this level, it's clear to understand why he has so much success in the transfer portal when athletes seek new college homes. That has seemed to pay dividends in the Rebels' roster building, and it will likely continue to do so in the future.