Lane Kiffin’s controversial move from Ole Miss to LSU just got a new, fiery chapter written at the NFL Combine. For most NFL prospects, the Combine podium is for selling themselves to teams. For Ole Miss DL Zxavian Harris, it was for settling a score.

“I want you to do me a favor,” said the one clicking the video as he kept passing a printed paper with the Tigers’ schedule on it for Kiffin’s player to choose from. “Sign the game that you’re looking forward to the most.” 

The first one sitting on the table was Kiffin’s cornerback Ja’Keem Jackson. After that, the sheet kept passing from one hand to another. While players like quarterback Sam Leavitt and defensive end Damien Shanklin voted the Alabama game as the one they are looking forward to, games like Tennessee and Texas A&M also got votes. 

But the list of votes for Kiffin’s former program kept pouring in. After Jackson, running back Harlem Berry, wide receiver Tre Brown, linebacker Zach Weeks, and quarterback Whit Weeks also ticked off the face-off against the Rebels. Not just the players, even the coaches went public about the September 19 face-off. Former head coach Kiffin himself, along with the Rebels’ former offensive coordinator Charlie Weis Jr., picked up the Ole Miss face-off. 

Week 3 brings the SEC debut for both Ole Miss and LSU, with the Tigers visiting Vaught-Hemingway Stadium. Things are likely to be head-to-head in this high-stakes face-off. Talking about Kiffin’s tools to replicate the success he put up in the past? It’s already there.

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According to Pete Nakos of On3, multiple Power Four general managers reported that LSU has been on a spending spree and might enter the 2026 season with the priciest roster in college football. Numbers suggest it topped $40 million after the winter portal push. Going by On3’s transfer portal team rankings, Kiffin’s LSU has secured a No. 2 spot after landing 40 transfers. Some of the best transfers, like Leavitt, Colorado offensive tackle Jordan Seaton, have punched the Baton Rouge ticket.

Likewise, Kiffin now holds the advantage of carrying his trusted lieutenants with him to LSU. The Kiffin-Weis Jr. combo, whose Rebels shredded defenses for 37 points per game and nearly 500 yards a game, is ready to bring the heat against Golding’s crew.

While Ole Miss might run weak in some of their right-hand coaches, Golding, as a debut head coach, went full throttle on the recruiting trail. The Rebels added 29 transfers. Who among them was the biggest offseason pickup? Deuce Knight, the five-star signal-caller out of Lucedale. After Kiffin’s exit, Golding also loaded up at running back, adding Makhi Frazier, JT Lindsey, and Joshua Dye. All three are expected to rotate behind Kewan Lacy. 

No matter how the Rebels try to turn the page, Kiffin’s exit still cuts deep. And you know it hurts when an Ole Miss player verbally attacked the former head coach during his NFL Combine appearance.

Lane Kiffin gets verbally attacked by the Ole Miss defensive lineman

The buzz about Kiffin leaving Oxford had picked up by late October. But the then-head coach never made the camp feel that he was actually going to leave the program. Instead, he kept on reassuring that he is going to stick around.

“So I don’t know where that came from, like a lot of stuff that comes out there. Like I said, man, we’re having a blast. I love it here,” Kiffin said before the Egg Bowl.

News started to pour in that LSU had arranged a private jet for the Kiffin family to travel to Baton Rouge. But Kiffin was never transparent about his interest in LSU. That left the players feeling betrayed. Months later, the 2026 NFL Scouting Combine hosted five players from the Ole Miss camp. When defensive lineman Zxavian Harris took the podium, he brought up the topic of Kiffin’s surprising departure. 

“When Kiffin was there, he was telling us almost every day, ‘Don’t believe the rumors,’” Harris said. “Like he’s not gonna leave, to keep us focused. But by the time it came, everybody was starstruck. He told us not to believe the rumors. We should have believed it, and he just left out of nowhere.”

Harris’s public accusation that Kiffin was dishonest with the team was a direct shot at his former coach’s character and integrity. It’s a clear verbal attack on the NFL Combine’s big stage.

Leaving the Rebels mid-CFP chase already stung. Will Lane Kiffin now deepen the scar by beating the team he once led?