Ole Miss football stands out from portal crowd because of unique, arms-wide-open culture
Ole Miss isn’t the only team taking full advantage of the transfer-dominated culture of college football these days.
Others that come to mind are Oregon, Colorado and Louisville. But few, if any, in the now-16-team SEC have matched the success of the Rebels. They’ve pretty much exclusively relied on the portal to build their roster. All but two of their starting 22 for next season are transfers.
Ole Miss is a consensus Top 10 team entering the year and has the sixth-best odds to win the national championship. Lane Kiffin’s led the Rebels to the third-best record in the conference since he was hired five years ago.
But it’s not just about collecting talent, even if Ole Miss has put together Top 6 classes three straight off-seasons. The Rebels have arguably set themselves apart with their unique, arms-wide-open atmosphere for new players.
“The facilities were one thing,” Jacksonville State transfer DL Chris Hardie said.
Hardie was retelling his May decision to choose Ole Miss. Hardie is the next guest on the Ole Miss Spirit’s ‘Ivey League’ podcast. His episode airs Monday.
“My old school, it’s better now than it was when I first got there. Our head coach now, Rich Rod, he really took the place and turned it around. I applaud him for that. But once I got here, I realized, OK, this is something that makes y’all different. I could utilize these resources, ‘cause I haven’t been getting them.”
“And the players. I’m a guy that talks to anybody; I can talk to a brick wall. It’s not hard for me to communicate, but it could be hard for people who are not like that to transition. Y’all make it easy. When I got here, Day 1, y’all treated me like ya’ll been knowing me two, three years.”
#OleMiss’ transfer culture is #DIFFERENT @ChrisHardie_7 @jared_ivey1595 @RiverlandRoofs
New ‘Ivey League’ arrives Monday. Join @OMSpiritOn3 today for just $1 https://t.co/CGv2QThMGu pic.twitter.com/qHcTatgVOz
— OMSpiritOn3 (@OMSpiritOn3) July 12, 2024
Hardie’s comments are similar to those made by Princely Umanmielen on the ‘Ivey League’ back in the spring.
Umanmielen (EDGE, Florida) and Walter Nolen (DT, Texas A&M) were Top 10 transfers signed by Ole Miss in January. They enrolled for spring practices, though Umanmielen sat as he recovers from shoulder surgery.
“One thing I like about this team (is) everybody was really welcoming,” Umanmielen said at the time. “Everybody’s kind of together. At Florida, I would say there would be cliques and stuff like that. People would be a little standoffish before you become part of the family.
“When we’d have transfers, I probably wouldn’t talk to them for like two weeks. Here, everybody was really welcoming.”
Third-year star defender Jared Ivey hosts the ‘Ivey League.’ Ivey, a one-time transfer from Georgia Tech, could have turned pro after last season. However, he was one of the many notable returning Rebels who put off the NFL Draft to chase a title.
“It’s interesting about here, because when I went to Tech as a freshman, it was not like that at all,” Ivey said. “It feels like you don’t even skip a beat.
“I feel like I remember when (Hardie was) just in the meeting room and in the mix and doing this. Seeing you in black (injury-designation jersey), I’m like, ‘Dang, you still haven’t worked out yet?’
“I feel like you were always right there already.”
The post Ole Miss football stands out from portal crowd because of unique, arms-wide-open culture appeared first on On3.
