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1. It promises to be an interesting week -- if nothing else -- for Ole Miss football this week. Per sources, Lane Kiffin's younger brother, Cleveland Browns defensive line coach Chris Kiffin, is expected in town early this week. The younger Kiffin, who turns 40 later this month, is believed to have an offer to join the Rebels' defensive staff. A decision from Chris Kiffin is expected early this week.
As of Sunday afternoon, there appeared to be very cautious optimism the younger Kiffin would return to the college game. He has stints at Arkansas State, Ole Miss and FAU in addition to his NFL experience in San Francisco and Cleveland. However, Kiffin has a solid gig with the Browns, who finished their season at 8-9 after a win over Cincinnati Sunday.
Sources have indicated Chris Partridge, who shared defensive coordinator duties with DJ Durkin the past two seasons, has not yet accepted a new deal from Ole Miss, though that acceptance is expected.
And while I will tell you I don't really buy it at all, there's enough buzz around here to mention it. Tomorrow is Black Monday in the NFL and some believe Lane Kiffin's name could be tossed around for some NFL gigs. Minnesota, in particular, has been mentioned, though the Vikings have been noncommittal regarding the future of coach Mike Zimmer.
The Vikings beat Chicago Sunday to finish the season at 8-9. Zimmer has two years left on his Minnesota contract.
2. As of this writing, Ole Miss appears to be very much in the mix for Oklahoma transfer portal quarterback Caleb Williams.
I'm going to be completely honest here. As great of a story Williams to Ole Miss would be, I'll be shocked if it comes to fruition.
The rumor before Williams even entered the transfer portal was he would transfer to USC to play for his former Oklahoma coach, Lincoln Riley, who left Norman for Los Angeles last month. Another former Sooner often linked to Williams, wide receiver Mario Williams, was in Los Angeles on an official visit this weekend. On3Sports.com reported Friday Caleb Williams and his father will visit Los Angeles imminently and check out both USC and UCLA.
On Sunday, Williams posted on his Instagram story that he was in Los Angeles, attending the 49ers-Rams game at Sofi Stadium. There are rumblings that Ole Miss is trying to get Williams to campus this week, but dead period/visit rules are tied around the start of class and could be problematic.
If we're still talking about Williams this time next week, it's a great sign for Ole Miss. The bet here is he's a Trojan by then.
And if it's not Williams headed to Oxford, frankly, I'm lost as to where Ole Miss goes from there at quarterback. Incarnate Word transfer portal quarterback Cameron Ward is set to make his announcement Monday night, but most believe Ward, who visited Ole Miss last month after entering the portal, will transfer to Washington State.
3. While a lot of the attention is on the pursuit of Williams, there's a lot of recruiting that must be done over the next two-plus weeks if Ole Miss is going to add players from the transfer portal in time for the spring semester.
The Rebels announced the signing of Union, New Jersey, defensive back Davison Igbinosun on Saturday. However, the Rebels officially learned this past week that running back Snoop Conner and linebacker Chance Campbell were leaving early to declare for the NFL Draft.
Iowa State transfer portal defensive back Isheem Young appears destined for Ole Miss, as does Northwestern transfer portal cornerback Garnett Hollis Jr. and Central Michigan transfer portal linebacker Troy Brown.
We've also got our eyes trained on a couple of players who could enter the portal as early as Tuesday. As we've said for months, lots of roster turnover was expected. That's certainly come to fruition.
4. The college football season ends Monday night in Indianapolis. As expected throughout the preseason and, frankly, all year, it's Alabama and Georgia battling for the national championship.
Alabama dominated the final three quarters of the last matchup between these two teams a month ago in the Southeastern Conference Championship Game in Atlanta. Of course, the Tide had a ton to play for that night, as a loss would've eliminated them from title contention. Georgia had a spot in the four-team playoff sewn up, so the Bulldogs might have been a little flat, even with an SEC title on the line.
Georgia is better at most positions, but the Tide is better at quarterback and head coach. Beating a team twice is difficult, however. It should be an entertaining game. My pick:
Alabama 28, Georgia 27
5. The NFL Playoffs begin Saturday.
*I'm assuming the bottom of the AFC Playoffs at this hour. I'll amend if the Sunday late game changes matchups.
Here are my sure-to-go-terribly wrong predictions for how the best few weeks of professional football will play out:
NFC Wildcard Round:
Tampa Bay over Philadelphia
Dallas over San Francisco
L.A. Rams over Arizona
NFC Divisional Round:
Green Bay over L.A. Rams
Dallas over Tampa Bay
NFC Championship Game:
Green Bay over Dallas
AFC Wildcard Round:
Kansas City over Pittsburgh
Buffalo over L.A. Chargers/Las Vegas
Cincinnati over New England
AFC Divisional Round:
Cincinnati over Tennessee
Kansas City over Buffalo
AFC Championship Game:
Kansas City over Cincinnati
Super Bowl LVI:
Green Bay over Kansas City
6. I certainly don't have a vote for NFL Most Valuable Player -- I mean, besides not covering the league, I didn't go on a Chicago sports talk show and call Aaron Rodgers a "jerk" because he's not vaccinated -- but if I did, my awards ballot would look like this:
AP Most Valuable Player delivered by Pizza Hut -- Aaron Rodgers, QB, Green Bay
AP Coach of the Year -- Bill Belichick, New England
AP Comeback Player of the Year -- Dak Prescott, QB, Dallas
AP Offensive Player of the Year presented by Microsoft Surface -- Cooper Kupp, WR, Los Angeles Rams
AP Defensive Player of the Year presented by Castrol -- TJ Watt, DL, Pittsburgh
AP Offensive Rookie of the Year. -- Ja'Marr Chase, WR, Cincinnati
AP Defensive Rookie of the Year -- Micah Parsons, LB, Dallas
Executive of the Year -- Brian Gutekunst, Green Bay
7. Basketball is a weird game.
Days after Ole Miss struggled to score in an overtime loss at Tennessee, the Rebels had a brilliant offensive performance in a win over Mississippi State in Oxford.
Ole Miss is now 1-1 in the Southeastern Conference, and if the Rebels are going to do anything that even resembles a run at the postseason, there's no margin for error. However, Saturday's performance against Mississippi State provided some encouragement, as several young players had their best games in Ole Miss uniforms.
"I've said this before, but coming to this team as a new player, I knew we had some high-level guys who can perform any night," said center Nysier Brooks, the Rebels' oldest player, one who transferred from Miami in time for this season. "We have a lot of guys who want opportunities and who are ready to play."
Ole Miss is playing without forward Robert Allen (out for the season with a knee injury) and with a very limited Jarkel Joiner (limited to just 5 1/2 minutes last week due to a bad back), two players Kermit Davis calls "the heart and soul of our team." That's forced young guys like Daeshun Ruffin, Matthew Murrell and Jaemyn Brakefield to carry massive loads.
That might not be the ideal recipe for winning now, but if you're looking for a bright spot, it could well be that the forced maturation will pay off handsomely down the road.
8. Here's my weekly ranking of the SEC, with the updated NET rankings in parentheses:
1. Auburn (6) -- At 14-1, the Tigers look like a Final Four team so far.
2. LSU (3) -- Other than a loss at Auburn, Will Wade's Tigers have been basically unstoppable.
3. Alabama (22) -- This is just my opinion. Numbers don't back it up yet, but I think the Tide is a third-weekend caliber team.
4. Kentucky (16) -- There's just so much talent.
5. Texas A&M (65) -- The Aggies just keep winning. They're now 3-0 in league play.
6. Mississippi State (45) -- Make no mistake, Ole Miss fans. You beat a really good team Saturday night.
7. Florida (50) -- The Gators are going to start getting antsy about Mike White here soon. UF is 9-5 overall, 0-2 in the SEC.
8. Vanderbilt (81) -- Lots of credit to Scottie Pippen Jr. He's an elite player.
9. Tennessee (11) -- I know. The numbers make no sense. It's a gut feeling. I don't think the Vols are very good. They're so close to being 0-3 in league play.
10. Ole Miss (111) -- Ole Miss is really inconsistent, but there are players on the roster who can win games.
11. Arkansas (93) -- The Hogs are 0-3 in the league and they just look really mediocre.
12. South Carolina (98) -- A typical Frank Martin team, meaning they're scrappy as hell.
13. Missouri (199) -- That win over Alabama Saturday was impressive.
14. Georgia (227) -- One has to think Tom Crean isn't long for Athens.
9. Normally in this spot I say it's time to eat. Today, however, it's time to celebrate. Here's our resident Parisian chef, Burton Webb, with Taste of the Place, Lesson 119 --Émilien Loup Webb.
Hello, hello, hello.
For the newest recipe…“bun in the oven”, I would like to welcome to the world this guy. As the Sugar Bowl was just kicking off, this little man was coming to say hi.
I am more than ecstatic to be able to share his arrival. I will be taking off the next few weeks to be able to spend time with him and me lady, Alice. We wish that each of you has a great start to 2022.
From the Mississippian in Paris, Laissez les bons temps rouler!
9b. With Burton off to spend time with his new son, I asked Chase Parham to step in this week and fill a gap. He was kind enough to do so, giving you a storyline to keep an eye on as the college baseball season nears. Here's Chase:
Marquise Watson took the Rutgers defensive line coach over the weekend, moving to New Jersey for an on-field position. Impossible to blame Watson, as he was believed to be a candidate on two different occasions here in Oxford but wasn’t selected on either occasion.
This isn’t to criticize Lane Kiffin. The head coach can hire and fire whomever he wants, and Randall Joyner was a quality hire the last go-around. He’s focused on trying to get his brother, Chris, from the NFL currently for the open defensive coach position.
But Watson will be one to watch moving forward because Ole Miss could have kept him, and his success will somewhat play into the quality of the decision by the Rebels - even in hindsight. It’s be a while before we know that, but there’s at least one place to look at maybe some short-term tentacles.
Watson was the key recruiter for former Rivals100 defensive lineman Tywone Malone on the football side of things. Watson and baseball recruiting coordinator Carl Lafferty did the majority of the heavy lifting on the two-sport player. Malone tore his ACL in late 2020 and never factored into the rotation during this past season. Malone played nine total snaps with a sack and two tackles on the year.
He’ll be on the baseball roster this spring, and I’m curious to see if the Rebels get him some at-bats to see where he stands on the baseball field. Ole Miss returns every position starter from last season except for Cael Baker and finding development at-bats for Malone could be difficult.
Next season is critical for Malone on the football field, both in his need to step up and for Ole Miss in replacing players from 2022. In today’s college football world, you have to at least be aware of the possibility of players headed elsewhere if they don’t find instant success.
With Watson at Rutgers in Malone’s home state, it would give an easy landing spot should things not pan out here. I’m not predicting Malone leaving, but I do think these next months are critical for him. To figure out where baseball fits into his athletic life because playing two sports is incredibly hard — especially when there’s so much development necessary in baseball, to take the jumps necessary to get on the field and to meet the vast potential that accompanied his arrival.
10. We'll have coverage of Ole Miss football recruiting, basketball and more this week on RebelGrove.com. Until then, here are some links of interest to me -- and hopefully, to you. -- for your reading pleasure:
Brett McMurphy’s Way-Too-Early College Football Top 25 Rankings for 2022 | Action Network
NFL Draft order: Jaguars secure No. 1 pick despite win vs. Colts; Lions at No. 2 - The Athletic
What went wrong? How Matt Nagy went from Coach of the Year to his expected departure from the Bears
Broncos fire Vic Fangio: Nathaniel Hackett, Dan Quinn among lengthy list of possible candidates
Tall tales of Klay Thompson — his special bond, and adventures, with Warriors centers
The Athletic Set Out to Destroy Newspapers. Then It Became One. - The Ringer
How Florida is able to forget the national COVID emergency
Why I'm leaving NY to protect my children from its politicians
COVID vaccines prolong menstrual cycles by 19 hours, study reveals | Daily Mail Online
CNN's Leana Wen: 'Cloth Masks Are Little More Than Facial Decorations'
How children are spoofing Covid-19 tests with soft drinks - BBC Future
FACT FOCUS: Unfounded theory used to dismiss COVID measures | AP News
Jack Dorsey blocked by Marc Andreessen on Twitter after Web3 comments
Paulina Porizkova: the supermodel who dared to look her age | Magazine | The Times
Baby Zebra Is Born With Dots Instead Of Stripes - First Time Ever Recorded (10 Pics)
