The College Football world was flipped on it's head during the end of November as the Lane Kiffin sweepstakes hit their peak. Kiffin made the decision to take the LSU job, which meant the Rebels weren't going to allow him to coach during the College Football Playoff. Nearly moments after Lane Kiffin's decision was reported, Pete Golding was quickly named the next head coach at Ole Miss.
The two sides then engaged in a bit of warfare as Lane Kiffin took key staff members in Charlie Weis Jr, GM Billy Glasscock, and RB Coach Kevin Smith with him along with others. Golding was able to lure in LSU GM Austin Thomas and LSU Interim HC and RB Coach Frank Wilson to help build out his staff.
There was then a ton of players trading places in the Transfer Portal as Lane Kiffin poached TJ Dottery, Princewill Umanmielen, and Winston Watkins Jr while Ole Miss took LSU freshmen Carius Curne and JT Lindsey. The two biggest battles that everyone was anticipating never ended up happening.
Kewan Lacy stayed at Ole Miss to build something special
When LSU hired Ole Miss running backs coach Kevin Smith, it seemed as if the Tigers were going to end up landing Kewan Lacy. The running back was heavily tied to Smith, but when Ole Miss announced they inked Kewan Lacy to a new deal for the 2026 season, it was a massive win, and a blow to Ole Miss.
Kewan Lacy appeared on Friday's episode of The White House Podcast with NFL legends Michael Irvin and Brandon Marshall where he broked down his decision to stay at Ole Miss.
"There was a lot of schools, great opportunities. But I just felt like what we’ve built at Ole Miss is remarkable. The people we got coming back, we’ve got Trinidad [Chambliss] coming back, the receivers, and then the people we got got out of the portal for the defense, I just feel like we’re building something special. I trust Pete [Golding] to lead us in the right direction."Kewan Lacy
Seeing Kewan Lacy and Trinidad Chambliss both stay in Oxford rather than jumping in the Transfer Portal was refreshing to see. Both stars could've entered the Transfer Portal, and cashed in, but they instead decided to continue building something special, and they'll be remembered at Ole Miss for the decision.
After rushing for 1,567 yards and 24 touchdowns this season, Kewan Lacy will enter the 2026 season as a Heisman candidate. The Rebels will have new offensive playcallers, but with Lacy and Chambliss back in the fold, they should be right back in the mix for the College Football Playoff.