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Lane Kiffin vs Ole Miss intensifies after Sugar Bowl; new LSU coach busy wooing his first target
Ole Miss players had a lot to say about Lane Kiffin after their Sugar Bowl win vs Georgia on Thursday night
Ole Miss players had a lot to say about Lane Kiffin after their Sugar Bowl win vs Georgia on Thursday night. The former Rebels coach, who joined LSU in hopes of making a new championship team, earned at least a $500,000 bonus from his new employer after the game because of incentive clauses in his previous deal.
However, that was not it. It was Ole Miss defensive tackle Zxavian Harris's comments that made the headlines on Friday.
We took it personally
“I know some people were down at first and came here because of Kiffin,” the DT said after Rebels’ dramatic 39–34 win. “But after realizing how he was and when Coach [Pete] Golding came in, they saw a difference in how a real head coach is supposed to be, and you’ve seen how we’ve come together.”
Harris added that Kiffin’s move to LSU ahead of the CFP was ‘like a slap in the face and then a backhand. We took that personally’.
Zxavian Harris blamed Kiffin for how the departure was handled.
“That’s what Kiffin tried to do. He tried to be a damn announcer … trying to be a troll. We were going to troll him. We got something for him. He was just trying to steal our shine. That’s all he tried to do. That’s all he’s been trying to do, is steal our shine.”
Lane Kiffin wooing top QB
Meanwhile, Kiffin is keeping himself busy. ESPN reported on Friday that former Cincinnati quarterback Brendan Sorsby is set to make visits to LSU and Texas Tech.
Sorsby is ranked as ESPN's best available player in the transfer portal. There are more than 4,000 players available in the portal, according to the report.
Sorsby threw for 2,800 yards and 27 touchdowns with five interceptions in 12 games as the Bearcats went 7-5. He also ran for 580 yards and nine scores.
In three full Division I seasons, Sorsby has passed for 7,200 yards and 60 touchdowns. He was at Cincinnati for two seasons after playing in 2023 at Indiana. He also had three completions during one game at Indiana in 2022.
(With inputs from Reuters)
