Knox Kiffin’s football journey is still relatively young. Lane Kiffin’s son followed his dad to Oxford to start his high school career, but despite being the son of Ole Miss’ head coach, it didn’t guarantee him the starting job. Instead, at Oxford High School, he had to wait out his turn. All that is set to change.

Knox, who recently moved to OHS, was the backup behind the starting QB Drew Dean. However, in OHS’s game against Germantown, Dean went down with an injury midway through the third quarter, and Knox was called into action. When you have QB genes, no moment is big enough. Knox led a clutch drive in overtime and sealed his high school’s 43-42 win with a two-point conversion.

ON3’s Ben Garrett asked Knox whether he’s starting this week against Clinton when the QB appeared on the October 23 episode of the Talk of Champions/Under the Lights. “Yes, sir,” Knox confirmed as he elaborated on the changes in his preparations for the new role.

“I’ve been just watching a lot of film on Huddle, just like all the teams they play each game, just breaking down the coverages,” Knox replied with a yes. “And we have meetings with our coaches, and I think I just really like to lock in during those meetings. Just take, like all I can take, so you know I’m just ready. And I’ve just had a good week of practice I feel, like just throwing the ball wise.” 

Against Germantown, Know hit Grayson Bettis on the final play, rolling right and tossing it back across his body for the score. In that game, Knox had 6 completions for 134 passing yards. Before that, Knox saw some action against Lafayette on September 12. He completed 4 out of 7 passes for 109 yards.

Even Daddy Kiffin put forward his stance after Knox’s Germantown performance. “I mean, that was awesome,” Kiffin said Oct. 20. “For a dad — I wish I could have been there, but I was watching on the phone, on the feed — there’s just something that, as only dads can explain about your kid playing ball and going down and winning the game like that.”

As a 2028 QB prospect, Knox has already received several offers, including from SMU, Arkansas State, Western Kentucky, Sacramento State, Murray State, and FIU. Notably, top programs like Oregon, Florida, and LSU are on his radar. Knox recently visited LSU for a game.

But with all these choices, where is Ole Miss? Knox didn’t really put Ole Miss in his top 3 schools list. The reason? “I’m definitely not going to play for my dad,” Knox told Adam Gorney from Rivals. “I want to do my own stuff.”

Lane Kiffin handed out the Sophies’ choice

It’s chaos in Gainesville again, but this time it’s falling right on the rumored new head coach, Lane Kiffin. Kiffin is wanted badly after Billy Napier messed up the whole system. The boosters are ready to throw as much cash as required. But the school’s administration has other ideas. They’ve reportedly given Kiffin an ultimatum: commit quickly or watch the program pivot toward Notre Dame’s Marcus Freeman.

Freeman is a $75 million name that the board finds more “fit for the long haul.” But on the other hand, Kiffin holds a bit of leverage. Since 2023, he’s gone 27-6 with wins over Georgia and South Carolina, proving he’s one of college football’s best offensive minds. On top of that, his two Conference USA titles from his Florida Atlantic days make the Gator donors nostalgic. It’s because they see a lot of Steve Spurrier in Kiffin.

But it’s not that simple. Kiffin is very much involved with his life in Oxford. His daughter, Landry, studies at Ole Miss, and his son, Knox, has just now achieved the starter position and needs his dad more than ever. Thus, the family pull, a $9 million annual salary, and Ole Miss’s proven transfer-portal pipeline make relocation tricky. Ole Miss AD, Keith Carter, even plans on keeping him by offering a contract extension.

The popular Curt Cignetti move is being followed everywhere, it seems. Meanwhile, Marcus Freeman looms as a fresh new commodity. His $75 million contract in South Bend, plus an easier playoff path outside the SEC meat grinder, makes prying him away a long shot.