Ole Miss football sees opportunity. And the entire Rebels community is seizing the moment

Dec. 22—OXFORD — College football keeps changing. And it’s either hop on the moving train or get left behind.

Let’s count some of the major changes that have taken place (or will be shortly) in the last few years:

—The transfer portal and the one-time transfer rule, which has completely changed the way team-building and roster maintenance works

—Name, image and likeness (NIL), which has altered the playing field for elite-level recruits and gaining the services of the aforementioned transfer portal players

—The College Football Playoff expanding from four teams to 12 in 2024-25

If it seems like it’s a mad scramble to find footing in this new era, there’s more than a hint of truth to that. Some coaches have been vocal in their dismay of the changes, and some programs have had trouble adapting and evolving. And then there’s Ole Miss, who is sitting as pretty as anyone and is knocking on the door of college football’s elites, having won 28 games over the last three years and in its second New Year’s Six game in that span. The nation has taken notice of what’s being built in Oxford.

“I definitely feel now going into schools, living rooms — or college campuses, nowadays — for players, I think that there’s a different feeling when we walk in at Ole Miss than it was when we got here,” head coach Lane Kiffin said.

The Rebels were already all-in on this new period of college football, having built its last two teams largely from the transfer portal. And, with the expanded playoff on the horizon, they can smell the opportunity 2024 and beyond have to offer.

Everyone around the Ole Miss football program — from the coaches recruiting (and trying to keep players) to the Grove Collective and companies securing NIL deals for players to fans showing their support with their hard-earned money — can feel the momentum…

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/ole-miss-football-sees-opportunity-133400173.html

Author : Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal, Tupelo

Publish date : 2023-12-22 13:34:00

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