ole miss
OLE MISS HITTING RESET BUTTON WHILE AIMING TO IMPROVE IN LANE KIFFIN’S SECOND YEAR
By JAKE THOMPSON Yes, Lane Kiffin was on the sideline for the 2020 season, but to the second-year head coach this season is like hitting a reset button in many ways. With the many protocols in place and restrictions towards recruiting last year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, last season was abnormal for all teams but maybe more so for a first-year head coach such as Kiffin. After being hired in December 2019 with the pomp and circumstance from the landing on the tarmac at the University-Oxford Airport to the welcome ceremony at the SJB
Pavilion, normalcy in college football ended for Kiffin. There was not a spring drill season as the pandemic arrived in March just weeks before the Rebels spring practices would have began. Then there was the year-plus dead period that was implemented by the NCAA, putting Kiffin even more behind in recruiting for a team with many depth issues. Now, as the 2021 preseason sets to begin in two weeks, Kiffin has experienced his first full cycle as the Rebels head coach. Spring practices were held in April, giving his team a true offseason program. When speaking to local media ahead of his appearance at the SEC Media Days on
Tuesday, Kiffin expressed how this year feels like starting over at Ole Miss. "I feel like it's our first year even though I guess we're in our third recruiting year," Kiffin said. "I feel like it's our first year of that because kids are finally on campus that we've been talking to. ...I feel like it's all kind of a first." Even though this season feels like a reboot to the system for Kiffin, mentally, it is not. The Rebels are out to prove they can be the same dominant offense they were in 2020 while also trying to drastically improve their defense, which was one of the worst in the country. At the helm of the offense is quarterback FALL SPORTS PREVIEW 2021
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