The Kiffin Effect: How the Ole Miss Rebels Will Reload Offensively in 2025

The Rebels have been an offensive juggernaut since Lane Kiffin stepped on campus, but should we expect anything different in 2025?

Mississippi Rebels head coach Lane Kiffin is interviewed after the game while holding the Ash Verlander Champions Trophy of the TaxSlayer Gator Bowl Thursday, Jan. 2, 2025 at EverBank Stadium in Jacksonville, Fla. Ole Miss defeated Duke 52-20. [Corey Perrine/Florida Times-Union] / Corey Perrine/Florida Times-Union / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

It is no secret that Ole Miss Rebels head coach Lane Kiffin is widely recognized as one of the best offensive minds in football. From L.A. to Boca, he has put up numbers, and once he got to Oxford that didn't change.

The Ole Miss Football social media accounts put out an eye-opening graphic that tells part of the story: the Rebels lead the Power 5 in yards per game over the past five seasons.

Most YPG over the last 5 seasons 📈#HottyToddy pic.twitter.com/yWZtegJuwf

— Ole Miss Football (@OleMissFB) January 8, 2025

While the graphics are fun and a great recruiting tool, players win games, and the Rebels have tons of productive pieces heading out the door. How do they replace that production in 2025 and beyond?

Let's jump into it.

Quarterback

Jaxson Dart came to Ole Miss with a huge disadvantage as he was thrust into a quarterback battle with Luke Altmyer who had been in the system for a year, but Dart prevailed and won the job. He went on to break tons of records at Ole Miss, the most important being that he is leaving the winningest quarterback in school history.

So how do you replace a legend? With a lanky lefty from Florida.

Austin Simmons is believed to be the starter for the upcoming season, but the room is still somewhat empty after Walker Howard hit the portal. AJ Maddox is the only other scholarship player in that room so the Rebels will need to add another piece, maybe a veteran who will push both Simmons and Maddox in the starter's race, or maybe you go the high school route. Either way, the Rebels will need to add because right now, they would be one play away from a dangerously thin situation under center.

Running Back

This was the story of the 2024 season: the Ole Miss running backs room. The Rebels are losing Henry Parrish, Ulysses Bentley, Rashad Amos and Matt Jones for 2025, so what do the Rebels have in store?

Shekai Mills-Knight and Kewan Lacy are two big additions to this room. Yes, Mills-Knight has no college experience, and Lacy saw minimal time while at Missouri, but just look at Kiffin's track record with young backs at Ole Miss, and don't forget about Logan Diggs who will be the veteran of the room.

Still, it wouldn't hurt for the Rebels to continue to shop the transfer market for a capable back in the days ahead.

Wide Receiver

The Rebels will lose Jordan Watkins and Tre Harris to the NFL Draft while Ayden Williams and Noreel White have hit the portal. It seems Kiffin always has his fingers on the pulse of the recruiting trail when it comes to receivers because he has brought in a talented haul to replace some of the production heading out the door.

Two big names to watch from the latest recruiting class are Caleb Cunningham and Winston Watkins Jr., two very talented guys who could pair very well together with Watkins on the inside and Cunningham out wide. You also can't forget about Cayden Lee returning and Alabama transfer Caleb Odom who might not have the numbers to back it up but has been constantly pursued by the Rebels who love his upside.

De'Zhaun Stribling is another guy to watch as the Rebels seem to have picked Oklahoma State's pocket again, but this time for their WR1 who put up over 800 yards in Stillwater in 2024.