Lane Kiffin shares what role Joshua Harris fills on defensive line

Ole Miss Rebels head football coach Lane Kiffin is a big fan of the transfer portal. But what he is not a fan of is the restrictions the SEC has on the second portal opening following the conclusion of spring practices.

In the first transfer portal window, from Dec. 5 to Jan. 18, Kiffin was able to recruit former North Carolina State defensive lineman Joshua Harris to come to Oxford, MS.

During the offseason, in Ole Miss’ spring practices, Harris has looked good playing in the interior of the Rebels’ defensive line. But is he fulfilling the role he was recruited to do? According to Kiffin, yes, Harris has done that and then some.

“He really filled a void of someone that had played and had been a true zero nose (tackle), which haven’t necessarily had that body type exactly,” said Kiffin. “So, it was really good to get him. We knew the coaches there well and did a lot of background on him. And I’m really excited that he’s here. (He) was actually a player of the game or defense two Saturdays ago.”

For the second transfer window, the SEC conference prohibits in-conference transferring. Fortunately, when it comes to Harris, he is from outside of the conference, so this transfer to Ole Miss would not have been affected either way.

Still, Kiffin is not thrilled with the rules and lets it be known while discussing Harris.

Kiffin on the second transfer window

“Well, I think, in general, it’s unique because we basically have two free agency windows. Now we got another one coming up that is not (for) the SEC, which is really bizarre. It’s like we’re in the AFC West, but we can’t get AFC West players. And ours can’t leave to other AFC West teams, but everybody else can.

“So you kind of had a first round, and now you gotta spring to go through, see how players work, see how your current players work, the new ones. And then you got another round here of free agency.”

Unlike the winter window, which is open for 45 days, the college football spring transfer window is open a third of that time, just 15 days. The second window officially opens on Apr. 15, and we’ll close Apr. 30. If Kiffin and the rebels have their eyes on any players, comedy must act fast before the Apr. 30 deadline. And whether he likes it or not, Kiffin must keep his hands off of all SEC transfers until the next winter window opens, which will be in December of 2023.