The sun-splashed spring in Oxford isn’t short on noise. With just a handful of practices left before the Ole Miss Rebels’ “Meet the Rebels” event replaces their traditional spring game, Lane Kiffin has plenty on his plate. As he enters his sixth season at the helm, Kiffin is not just juggling installs and evaluations. He’s managing a roster in flux and retooling an offense that now includes a former Alabama blue-chipper in Caleb Odom, who’s itching for a second act after his brief and bumpy Tuscaloosa debut. The Rebels are stocked with new faces, but behind the scenes, the story is just as much about who’s missing as it is about who’s arriving.

Lane Kiffin, never one to sugarcoat, stepped to the mic this week and offered a sobering update about the state of his defensive backfield. “There’s some injuries there with some guys not practicing,” he said, acknowledging the thin numbers in the secondary. “So, that’s part of the concern, too. There’s just not a lot of numbers there, and certainly not much experience playing.” That’s a red flag for a defense looking to compete in the wide-open SEC, where high-flying aerial attacks are more norm than exception. “It’s just something we’ll have to work through and continue to push guys. Hopefully when these guys, a couple of guys, come back from injuries, it’ll look better.”

This isn’t just springtime coach-speak. The Rebels are staring down a depth issue in real time. Lane Kiffin is trying to hold the dam with duct tape while hoping some of his incoming talent can stick sooner rather than later. With several projected contributors in the defensive backfield sidelined, the urgency to have others step up has grown. That means more reps for raw athletes and even more reliance on situational installs and improvisational coaching. It also places added pressure on the front seven to bring heat and mask any early-season deficiencies on the back end.

Luckily for Kiffin, he’s done more than just patchwork recruiting. Ole Miss has brought in 24 transfers and signed 23 true freshmen. Among that incoming wave is Caleb Odom—a 6-foot-5 pass-catching tight end who never quite found his groove at Alabama.

A four-star recruit with the frame of a receiver and the ceiling of a matchup nightmare. Odom’s freshman season ended with just 65 yards on seven catches across 12 games. He played 145 snaps in crimson, but most of those felt like he was floating without a role. The moment he hit the portal, the opportunity at OM offered clarity.

Odom didn’t hold back when explaining why Oxford was the right move. “I just want to make plays,” he said. “They talked to me about how they can use me all around the field. Put me in the slot. You put me in the hip or outside wide. Put me anywhere, man; I’m just trying to make plays.” In many ways, his words mirror Kiffin’s offensive ethos. Find space, create mismatches, and get the pigskin into the hands of guys who can make defenders miss. “I think just having those conversations with them and being told how I can get the ball in my hands is ultimately what I wanted to hear. So, that helped,” Odom added.

The challenge for Odom now is proving he’s more than a positionless experiment. With Lane Kiffin at the controls, the blueprint is there. The Rebels have made a living turning miscast players into stars, especially at the skill positions.

Duck season in Oxford? Lane Kiffin zeroes in on 4-Star QB

With Jaxson Dart officially off to chase his NFL dreams, Lane Kiffin and the Rebels are entering a new era in Oxford. The torch is expected to be passed to redshirt sophomore Austin Simmons. Problem? Simmons is still a bit of a mystery. He’s got potential, no doubt, but he’s also unproven, and Kiffin knows better than to put all his eggs in one quarterback basket.

That’s why Ole Miss is staying aggressive on the recruiting trail, and it looks like they’re zeroing in on one of the nation’s top arms. On Monday, On3’s Steve Wiltfong logged an expert prediction for four-star QB Landon Duckworth to commit to the Rebels. A big-time development for Rebel Nation.

Duckworth, a 6-foot-4, 200-pound dual-threat QB from Jackson, has already made a visit to Oxford. According to reports, he loved it. Ole Miss is now seen as the frontrunner, but this is SEC territory, and the competition is fierce. Auburn, Georgia, and South Carolina are all in the hunt, hoping to flip the script.