The Breakdown: Lane Kiffin, Ole Miss Football Catapult Recruiting Class Into Top-20

Lane Kiffin and the Ole Miss Rebels have landed multiple blue-chip prospects in the 2026 Recruiting Cycle following a productive stretch of official visits in June.

After hosting double-digit targets for multi-day stays in Oxford, the Rebels began stacking talent in the program's 2026 class headlined by four-star edge rusher Landon Barnes.

Barnes, the No. 2 rated EDGE in Texas, pledged to the program on June 30 to begin what quickly became a "heater" for Ole Miss.

“They have a great plan for me at Ole Miss,” Barnes told Rivals. “They have recruited me hard, I see it as a perfect fit and the relationships I have with the coaches there are real.

“I felt the love from the staff. They showed great love and a lot of energy toward me. The people [at Ole Miss] really got to know me well and it showed me a lot as a recruit. I was there for a spring practice, then for an official visit and the energy was always there. They showed me that they wanted me.”

From there, Kiffin and the Rebels continued adding more and more talent with the program catapulting its status into the Top-20 Team Recruiting Rankings, according to Rivals.