Lane Kiffin is in the middle of another recruiting fight, and this one has Ole Miss trying to beat out the very coach who once ran its program.
The target is four-star quarterback Kaden Craft, the No. 8 QB in the 2028 class. Craft’s list is down to Oregon, LSU, Tennessee, Michigan, Florida, and Ole Miss, with the Rebels pushing to land a player they badly want in their next cycle.
Craft would be a major addition for Ole Miss, which already has the eighth-ranked 2028 recruiting class. That group currently features four-star defensive lineman Antavion Allen and three-star wide receiver Latedrick Mallard. Adding a quarterback would give the class another jolt.
The 6-foot-4, 210-pound Craft plays for Lake Norman High School in North Carolina, where he is ranked as the fourth-best player in the state. His game is built around a live arm and a polished feel for the position. He has an elite deep ball, showing strong touch on lofted throws downfield, and he moves well enough to throw on the run or take off and pick up first downs when the play breaks down.
He also brings the kind of pocket presence coaches love. The right-handed passer stays calm under pressure, works the field with accuracy, and plays with the confidence of a pure gunslinger. His patience and poise stand out just as much as the arm talent.
Ole Miss quarterbacks coach Joe Judge has played a major role in the Rebels’ recent success on the recruiting and development front. Judge is credited with identifying Trinidad Chambliss out of Ferris State, a Division II program, and that move paid off in a big way.
Chambliss stepped in after Austin Simmons went down early in the season with a lingering injury and helped lead Ole Miss to the College Football Playoff. The Rebels then beat Georgia and Tulane in the playoffs during what became a magical 2025 season.
The backdrop here makes the Craft chase even more interesting. Ole Miss and LSU have been locked in intense recruiting battles since Lane Kiffin left Ole Miss before the 2025 playoffs to take the LSU job, turning the matchup into a bitter rivalry between the two schools.
Craft is set to announce his commitment on August 17 live on the Rivals YouTube Channel.
In Other News...
Kirk Herbstreit Just Put Ole Miss QB Trinidad Chambliss In The Spotlight
Trinidad Chambliss has already authored one of the more unlikely rise stories in college football, and now he has a national voice pushing him even higher. ESPN analyst Kirk Herbstreit said the Ole Miss quarterback could become the new face of the sport this year, a label that would have sounded far-fetched not long ago for a player who started at Division II Ferris State, won a national championship there, and then made the jump to Oxford.
Chambliss only took over as the Rebels' starter after an injury to Austin Simmons, but once he got the job, he helped steer Ole Miss through an 11-1 regular season, a College Football Playoff win and a Sugar Bowl victory. With one more season ahead of him after a successful court case against the NCAA, the quarterback now has a chance to turn a remarkable story into something even bigger, and the attention around him is only going to grow from here. [Read more 🡒]
Ole Miss Now Faces The Real Test Of Trinidad Chambliss' Breakout
Trinidad Chambliss arrived at Ole Miss as one of those under-the-radar quarterback additions that suddenly looks much bigger in hindsight. After stepping in as the starter in 2025 because of an injury to the previous quarterback, he turned in a breakout season that included nearly 4,000 passing yards and 30 total touchdowns, a surge that put him firmly at the center of the Rebels offense and made his path to Oxford look like a sharp bit of evaluation from Charlie Weis Jr. and Joe Judge, who were the ones to bring his tape to Lane Kiffin.
Now the more revealing season is ahead. Chambliss will be working under new offensive coordinator John David Baker, and for Ole Miss the question is no longer whether he can produce, but how much of that production was tied to Kiffins system and influence. The Rebels do not need a reminder that quarterback development can be a delicate business, but they are about to get one anyway, with Chambliss next step offering a clearer read on just how much of last year belonged to the player and how much belonged to the coach. [Read more 🡒]