Ole Miss Coach Lane Kiffin Taking 'New-Age' Approach to Quarterback Recruiting

The Ole Miss Rebels did not land a quarterback in their 2025 class, but head coach Lane Kiffin is okay with that.

Nov 9, 2024; Oxford, Mississippi, USA; Mississippi Rebels head coach Lane Kiffin talks with quarterback Austin Simmons (13) after a touchdown during the first half against the Georgia Bulldogs at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Petre Thomas-Imagn Images / Petre Thomas-Imagn Images

The Ole Miss Rebels appear to have their 2025 quarterback situation figured out, assuming Austin Simmons stays healthy after Jaxson Dart's departure.

It was Simmons who piloted Ole Miss' first scoring drive last month against Georgia after Dart went down with an injury, after all. In that moment, Simmons' athleticism and strong arm were on full display, giving Rebel fans a potential glimpse at their quarterback of the future.

With that in mind, it's probably not a huge deal that the Rebels didn't land a quarterback in their 2025 high school recruiting class, but there's more that went into that decision, according to head coach Lane Kiffin. Sometimes, certain players just don't fit into the financial plans his program has in this new world of NIL and (soon to be) revenue sharing.

"I think we're kind of new-age in analytics and salary cap and roster management," Kiffin said on Wednesday. "I think a lot of people still do the same thing: 'We've got to sign this many people at this many positions and pay them whatever it takes.' I've said now for two years, I think you've got to be really careful with that with high school quarterbacks, in my opinion.

"Sometimes we're in on a guy, and the price gets too high. That's the world we live in now. You've got salary caps."

Part of the reason why Kiffin isn't wanting to pay an unnecessary amount of money for a high school quarterback is how quickly a high-profile player can enter the transfer portal these days if he doesn't see immediate playing time. It makes much more financial sense to spread those funds to build up the roster as a whole.

"I just think when you put a ton of money into that, it's just such a transfer position that usually doesn't play in Year 1," Kiffin said. "Look around the country, what you're about to see coming up here, you're going to see a lot of these high-priced guys from a year ago go into the portal. They just blew all that money."

There is still the transfer portal that can add some talent to the quarterback room. And, as mentioned above, it appears that the Rebels feel rather confident in Austin Simmons' ability to pilot the offense in the future.

Those factors combined should alleviate any concerns that Ole Miss fans have about their quarterbacking situation post-Jaxson Dart, at least for the time being.