Traction in the transfer portal
Is Kiffin and staff's plan taking shape? Another hoops loss and some NFL playoff reaction
Hope everyone had a good weekend. We’ve got a new podcast out with former Andy Kennedy staffer Bracken Ray on Ole Miss’s loss to Auburn, the lack of depth, what is missing within the program and what needs to change going forward and more. You can check that out here or anywhere you get podcasts.
We’ve got some football, hoops and golf to get to today.
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Ole Miss rises to No. 3 in transfer rankings
Ole Miss had a big January recruiting weekend with USC transfer quarterback Jaxson Dart and tight end Michael Trigg, and a handful of other prospects in town. It sounds as if the Rebels are gaining traction with regard to landing a transfer portal quarterback. I don’t cover recruiting and won’t divulge too much. Instead, I’ll direct you to Rebel Grove where Neal and Chase post daily updates on recruiting and supply you with the best information available, such as the latest on Dart’s chances of coming to Ole Miss to play quarterback.
Dart and Trigg aside, the Rebels moved up to No. 3 in 247’s transfer class rankings after landing Western Kentucky offensive lineman Mason Brooks. Ole Miss now has seven transfer ‘commitments’ and is behind only LSU and Florida State, per 247’s ranking system.
We all knew this would be the case. It was obvious even before the early signing period, but with who Ole Miss signed (and really, who it didn’t sign) during the early signing period, it was even more evident that the bulk of the program’s work in retooling this roster would be done via the transfer portal. To this staff’s credit, they are doing the work. Brooks is a plug-and-play guy on the offensive line. Couple that with Nick Broeker announcing his intention to return for one more season, that significantly improves an offensive line that battled injury issues and was a bit of a patchwork job in 2021. The Zach Evans commitment speaks for itself. Louisville transfer Jordan Watkins seems like a solid addition at receiver and the Rebels got two good pieces to add to the secondary via Iowa State transfer Isheem Young and Auburn’s Ladarius Tennison.
If Ole Miss can land Dart (and Trigg would obviously help too), then the conversation about the 2022 roster, how it was put together and the expectations next fall begins to change. The Rebels aren’t done in the portal, either. I am guessing they’ll try to land another running back. One more receiver would help, one or two defensive line additions seems to make sense and adding some linebacker depth would be prudent. But you’re starting to see the work get done and the ‘plan,’ for the lack of a better phrase, unfold.
This method of roster building — at least to the extent of how heavily Kiffin an this staff are relying on the portal — is uncharted territory in this sport. Ole Miss currently has seven commitments. That number only trails LSU (11) and Florida (8). Both of those programs have new coaching staffs. There’s a good chance Ole Miss passes one of the two in terms of number of transfer commitments and could very well exceed both. Is this a a tactical mistake or a cutting-edge way to do business at a second-tier SEC program like Ole Miss? That’s a question that will make next season so fascinating — because it is impossible to answer it right now. Is there something lost in the chemistry-building aspect of a football team having that many (presumable) contributors who have never played together before? My initial hunch is that I doubt it. If these guys end up going through spring ball, then I don’t see how it is much different than any year in which a team has to replace a lot from the year prior. Hell, if college basketball programs can get six newcomers to gel in a couple month’s time, you surely can in football. What does the depth aspect of this look like both in the short and long term. Just doing some quick math, it looks as if Ole Miss might sign one more high school player in this cycle? Maybe none? Does two or three years of doing this begin to backfire in terms of building depth? I have no idea.
All of these questions will be answered in the next 12-18 months. In the short term, I imagine many of you are somewhat relieve to see some movement in the portal and some work get done to replace a lot off of a 10-win roster in 2021. Adding Dart and Trigg would put even more hay in the proverbial barn. Ole Miss might still add another quarterback even if it gets Dart, but having the presumed starter for next year in place will make the picture much clearer than it was a week ago.
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Ole Miss blows double-digit lead to Auburn
Ole Miss couldn’t hold onto a double-digit lead against Auburn in an 80-71 loss on Saturday evening. The Tigers are good. They are arguably the best team in college basketball. The Rebels’ effort was admirable, but a lack of depth and perimeter shooting once again proved to be the team’s downfall as the lead slowly eroded and morphed into a deficit in the game’s final 20 minutes.
You can’t really fault this group for losing to a team as good as Auburn, no matter the lead or the fact that it was at home. But the same issues still surfaced. Austin Crowley played five minutes before leaving the game with an injury and didn’t return. As badly as Crowley has struggled at times this year, his absence left the Rebels incredibly short-handed from a ball-handling standpoint. With Jarkel Joiner sidelined for six weeks, Daeshun Ruffin and Tye Fagan were the only two real ball handlers available. Matthew Murrell helped some, but he and Luis Rodriguez aren’t exactly sure-handed options.
It’s both a product of injuries and flawed roster building. This team is what it is this year. Losing Joiner sinks them. There’s simply not enough offense to compete. But in the bigger picture, something’s got to change for Kermit Davis in terms of recruiting guards, particularly guards that can score. Even with a fully healthy roster, it’s an odd mix of forwards, a couple of older guards and a pair of high school guards that were never going to contribute this year. Would it have been more prudent to add another transfer guard versus taking a high school guy? That’s Monday morning quarterbacking, but it certainly seems logical. I am curious to see if there is a shift in how Davis approaches building rosters. He preferred to play inside-out and build his team around the front court at Middle Tennessee State. It’s becoming more evident by the game that you can’t do that in the Southeastern Conference. You have to have dynamic guards to have a chance and Ole Miss doesn’t have enough of those. It’ll be worth watching to see how Ruffin develops this year and if Murrell improves. But in the long term, this roster needs to look different next year in how it is constructed.
Ole Miss hosts a bad Missouri team on Tuesday night at 6 p.m.
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Matsuyama backdoors ridiculous win at The Sony
Hidecki Matsuyama is the most decorated Japanese golfer in history. How many of you would’ve guessed he’s not even 30 years old yet? Same here. The 29-year-old superstar pulled off a ridiculous victory at the Sony Open. Matsuyama trailed Russell Henley by five strokes entering the final nine holes on Sunday. Back-to-back birdies on No. 10 and No. 11 quickly shaved it to three and applied real pressure. A birdie on the 72nd hole forced a playoff, and this absurd shot on the first playoff hole won him the golf tournament.
That’s a three-wood from 277 yards to four feet. And he couldn’t even see the ball in the air because of the sun. That’s as incredible of a shot in that situation as you’ll ever see. You have to feel for Henley. He never trailed another golfer for the final 36 holes and lost the golf tournament. Henley is a three-time winner on Tour and will be fine, but it just goes to show you he got tracked down by an remarkable performance by Matsuyama. There are a handful of players in the world that can play at that level when the pressure’s on and Matsuyama is one of them. It was truly incredible to watch on Sunday. He might be golf’s quietest star.
Buckley finishes T-12
To add a little Mississippi flavor to the golf news today, Hayden Buckley notched a T-12 thanks to a Sunday 65. Buckley now has three top-15 finishes (including two top 10s) in his first six events as a PGA Tour member. His play earned him starts in each of the next three events: The American Express, the Famers Insurance Open and the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro Am.
Don’t look now, but Buckley is 38th in the early Fedex Cup standings and is the No. 157th ranked player in the world. Eleven months ago, he held partial status on the Korn Ferry Tour and planned to spend part of the year trying to Monday-qualify into Korn Ferry Tour events. It’s wild how quickly things can change for a professional golfer.
Davis Riley finished T-20.
NFL Wild Card Weekend in the books
It was relatively uneventful first weekend of the NFL playoffs, which is sort of odd because the NFL consistently delivers a dramatic, quality product more consistently than any other other sport or league on earth. Is it due to adding the additional playoff teams two seasons ago? Maybe, but spare me the anti-expansion takes. Last year’s first round was pretty good. Anyway, here’s a short thought or two on each game.
Bengals 24, Raiders 17 - Joe Burrow is awesome. The Cincinnati defense was better than Las Vegas’s offense for most of the game and the Bengals snapped a three-decade long drought without a playoff victory. I don’t love the Titans (Titans fan here) having to play this team. The Bengals run the ball well, play good defense and have a quarterback that shows flashes of being a top-5 quarterback in the NFL. That’ll be a fun game next weekend.
Bills 47, Patriots 17 - Josh Allen is the most exciting quarterback to watch in football right now. I am not sure it is close. The Bills scored touchdowns on every single drive in sub-zero temperatures. Allen was 21-25 for 308 and five touchdowns. How is that not the best cold weather performance ever? Buffalo-Kansas City next week in Arrowhead will be awesome television.
Buccaneers 31, Eagles 15 - Probably the most predictable result. Philadelphia was 0-6 against playoff teams during the regular season and Jalen Hurts vs Tom Brady is a pretty seismic quarterback mismatch. Brady is a home win away over the Rams from reaching his second NFC title game. For reference, the Dallas Cowboys have 0 NFC Championship game appearances in the last 25 years. Brady has played in the NFC for two years.
49ers 23, Cowboys 17 - This was a masterclass in coaching malpractice. I am not one to yell and scream about play calling, but when virtually every media personality who played or coached said 18 seconds is the cutoff for a quarterback draw when you have no timeouts, and the Cowboys ran one with 14 seconds left and then didn’t know the official has to spot the football, you are probably a poorly-coached team. I would also say 14 penalties didn’t help. Beyond that, Dak Prescott wasn’t very good in this game. That’s a problem when you pay him $40 million per year.
San Francisco is limited at quarterback but might be the scariest team in all other facets. I don’t think they in at Green Bay Next week, but it wouldn’t totally shock me.
Chiefs 42, Steelers 21 - It’s cool that Big Ben got to play one more playoff game, but we were all collectively robbed of not having Justin Herbert in the postseason. I am a little salty we had to watch this instead.
Rams 34, Cardinals 11 - The Rams went all-in on this year and looked the part on Monday night. They have to go beat Brady in Tampa next week, though. Kyler Murray looked really bad in this game. Arizona is another poorly coached team.
On the horizon
Charlie Weis Jr. feature story
preseason baseball podcast
Mailbag Friday podcast. Get your questions in now.
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