OXFORD — Ole Miss coach Lane Kiffin said Tuesday it’s been “really good” to have his coaching staff from 2024 back for 2025.

Ole Miss, like most programs, has “a lot of new players” going through spring drills, and that continuity has allowed for a smooth spring.

The Rebels opened their third week of spring drills Tuesday on a cool, breezy morning in Oxford. Kiffin met with the media afterwards. Here are some highlights:

— Kiffin said some injuries on the offensive line has forced the Rebels to move some players around. “That’s a work in progress,” Kiffin said.

— Kiffin said he’s been pleased with the defensive line and linebackers this spring, though he noted the Rebels “have a lot of work to do in the secondary.”

— Kiffin said this spring is different than last year primarily because so many of the newcomers this spring are in new systems and need a lot of reps in a lot of different situations. “We need to expose guys to that,” Kiffin said, “so we can evaluate them.”

— Kiffin said Ole Miss is trying to get the young guys in their first semester of college reps in practice without piling on too much. “That’s a lot on them,” Kiffin said, adding it’s a work in progress getting them acclimated.

— LSU transfer portal defensive back Sage Ryan is “a very savvy player,” Kiffin said, adding Ryan brings a lot of experience and is “a very good fit.”

— Kiffin pushed back on comparisons of Princewell Umanmielen to his brother, Princely. Princewell, Kiffin said, has been strong against the run so far this spring.

— Austin Simmons is a “smooth” runner, Kiffin said, adding he had a big run in Saturday’s scrimmage. Simmons isn’t a “violent runner” like Jaxson Dart, Kiffin said, but he’s been very efficient as a scrambler so far this spring.

— Kiffin said it says a lot about the program that staffers elected to stay when they had other opportunities. “That’s a good statement about where we are as a program,” Kiffin said.

— That continuity, Kiffin said, is “really important, especially nowadays.”

— Kiffin said he’s been very pleased with the transfer portal wide receivers, noting they’ve been “low-ego, low-maintenance guys, which is similar to what we’ve had here.” Kiffin said the new guys have come in ready to work and get better this spring.

— Kiffin said backup AJ Maddox has done a good job this spring going from scout team to running the Ole Miss offense and playing inside the structure. “He has a lot of room to grow with that, too,” Kiffin said.

— Kiffin said Suntarine Perkins has been hurt this spring, which has forced the Rebels to move people around. “When he gets healthy, we’ll get more into his (role),” Kiffin said.

-- Here are some scenes from Tuesday's work: