Kiffin Talks About Heading into Fall Football

By Adam Brown
Sports Editor
adam.brown@hottytoddy.com

Ole Miss head football coach Lane Kiffin met with media members on Wednesday over Zoom to discuss the upcoming season.

Football players returned to campus to start voluntary in-person workouts. Due to the COVID-19 outbreak, they have not been on campus since March.

Kiffin has not heard concerns from parents about their kids returning to campus.

“It kind of surprised me. I thought we would (hear concerns) a little bit. I’m assuming that they trust us and our medical staff,” Kiffin said. “The plan put in place by the chancellor is very extensive about being around the building and the social distancing and everything. We have not had issues with parents with that.”

Kiffen said most of the players, as well as himself, are now getting used to having to train under the confinements of COVID-19.

“One good thing is, this has been going on for a while. It’s not like all of a sudden you have to social distance. People have been wearing masks and social distancing for months now,” Kiffin said. “At least for me, it’s almost become the norm not to shake somebody’s hand and to stay away from people because we’re just used to it now. It probably hasn’t been as difficult as you would think. If they hadn’t been doing that and then all of a sudden they have to stay apart. Just like our walk the other day, everyone is standing apart. It is a little abnormal.”

On Saturday, the Athletics department had a unity walk following George Floyd’s death.

“I think it was a great event, a great start of things around campus here and with the athletic department. Personally, I really liked the experience because you have to get comfortable being uncomfortable,” Kiffin said. “That was a little bit different. Whenever you’re doing something you haven’t really done before — the walk itself and the chance there with the players — it was good. That’s what a lot of this is about — change. With change, a lot of the time it’s about getting comfortable with being uncomfortable to where it becomes the norm.”

For first-years, the staff’s spring ball is usually a good time for coaches to interact with their players, get to know them and build relationships, however, now Kiffin and his staff will need to find new ways to get close to the players.

“I talked to Elijah Moore Saturday after the unity walk, just brought him in here for an hour and just kind of went over some things for him. This situation is not ideal for a first-year staff, probably creating more issues than I thought. Spring ball, you really get to know your players,” Kiffin said. “You’re on the field with them. You’re interacting with them and putting faces with names. They get to know you and how you can help them on the field. We missed all of that. Unfortunately, when we were in our meetings last Monday talking about all of the stuff going on nationally and just listening to the kids, I just realized how little I know our kids, especially as a head coach. Position coaches have had some meetings and gotten to know them, but we’re behind obviously football-wise, but we’re really behind relationship-wise.”

Prior to COVID-19, Kiffin and his staff were able to install the new system before spring ball was canceled.

“We had done the install meetings in the little time that we’re allowed prior to spring ball but obviously had not done much on the field,” he said. “There was no time where we were even allowed to have a ball with them. It’s one thing to know things mentally, but not be out there to know them physically. It’s very different.”

Heading toward the fall and missing the spring ball, the coaches did not get to see the quarterback competition.

“It certainly doesn’t help. We try to be positive, but you have to be factual also. That hurt us in evaluation. John Rhys Plumlee probably would’ve fallen behind I assume just off of baseball and the amount of time for us to evaluate and work with him and throwing the ball in the system. In that sense, it probably neutralized it in terms of those two with no one having an advantage,” Kiffin said.