Ask Farrell: What effect will MSU firing have on Kiffin, Ole Miss?
After only two seasons, but with off-the-field issues and a poor showing in the Music City Bowl loss to Louisville, Mississippi State fired Joe Moorhead in a mildly-surprising move given the timing of a new coaching search.
According to Yahoo Sports’ Pete Thamel, the list to replace Moorhead may consist of Washington State’s Mike Leach, Louisiana-Lafayette’s Billy Napier, Tulane’s Willie Fritz, Army’s Jeff Monken, former Auburn coach Gene Chizik, or Florida defensive coordinator Todd Grantham.
As with all things Mississippi State, the discussion turns to beating Ole Miss on the field and in recruiting. The Bulldogs won the Egg Bowl this season and they’re currently ranked No. 10 in the SEC team rankings with Ole Miss at No. 11.
But the hiring of coach Lane Kiffin in Oxford has provided a much-needed spark to the Rebels and it could pay off heading into the second signing day in February. With only one four-star commit in Ole Miss’ 16-person class leading into the all-important January visit dates, coaching uncertainty at Mississippi State could be a boon for the Rebels.
In-state pickings at the top are slim with four-star DT McKinnley Jackson leading the way, but he’s not considering Mississippi State at this point and Ole Miss could be on the outside looking in with Alabama, LSU and Auburn as the frontrunners.
The ones to watch here to close out 2020 could be three-star athlete Alex Adams, three-star defensive tackle Montra Edwards II, three-star offensive tackle Kahlil Benson and three-star defensive tackle Leviticus Madison among others.
Even more, the 2021 class in Mississippi could shape up to be a real battleground class for Kiffin and whoever Mississippi State hires to replace Moorhead as there are already five four-star prospects among the group.
FARRELL'S TAKE
We ask Rivals national recruiting director Mike Farrell if Kiffin and his Ole Miss staff can fill the vacuum left by Moorhead’s departure and clean up in-state with the remaining 2020 prospects and especially the elite players in 2021? Or will new coaching life at Mississippi State help the Bulldogs’ recruiting efforts and even possibly slow Kiffin’s attempts at rebuilding in Oxford?
“You’ll see this impact in the 2021 and 2022 classes as Kiffin gets some time to get acclimated to the state and region. I felt he would out-recruit Moorhead, so now it’s about who they replace him with.
"None of the candidates mentioned have as much recruiting allure and cache as Kiffin, so I think this bodes very well for Ole Miss and there are some absolute studs in the 2021 and 2022 classes from the state of Mississippi. Who would have thought that Kiffin and Ole Miss would already be the most stable program in the state?”