Lane Kiffin opens up on how his perspective changed watching walk-on QB Braden Waterman battle cancer
As Ole Miss readies for a monster showdown with Alabama, some things are simply bigger than the massive SEC West clash. Like walk-on Rebels quarterback Braden Waterman battling cancer.
Waterman was diagnosed with Stage 3 Hodgkins Lymphoma and has battled it on and off since he was 17, back in 2020.
“Yeah there’s things like that that give you perspective in all of this,” Ole Miss coach Lane Kiffin said. “All the ‘win this game,’ matchups and attention on that, which we all get why football and SEC football is so followed and important — those things when they happen, and for a kid to go through a third time of this at his age, just is unspeakable. And he’s such an awesome kid.”
Waterman landed at Ole Miss after many of his recruiting offers disappeared as the cancer diagnosis was revealed. But the Rebels gave him a shot, with the native of Paso Robles, Calif., jumping on the chance.
Now he’s a perfect fit in the Ole Miss locker room, a constant source of inspiration for his teammates.
“I mean his energy, his positivity,” Kiffin said, “He shows up back here after doing chemo and I mean it’s just so cool.”
Waterman, a redshirt freshman, also has very little shot at seeing the field any time soon. Ole Miss’ quarterback room is as deep as any in the country, with starter Jaxson Dart backed up by Oklahoma State transfer and multi-year starter Spencer Sanders, as well as former five-star prospect Walker Howard.
None of that has kept Waterman’s positive outlook from changing.
Kiffin hasn’t been shy about pointing to his walk-on quarterback as an example when someone else needs a little extra motivation or juice.
“I just love being around him and talking to our players about when they’re down about they don’t have enough plays and they didn’t carry the ball enough or catch the ball enough, look what he’s going through and fighting through and still here positive,” Kiffin said. “It’s awesome. I really do love him.”