OXFORD — You know exactly what you’re getting when you get a defensive back from Alabama, Ole Miss head coach Lane Kiffin said. Legendary head coach Nick Saban taught them as well as anyone, and Kiffin got to see that firsthand.
Saban served as head coach of the Crimson Tide from 2007-23, winning six national championships. Saban’s specialty was always defense and specifically defensive backs — a position he played at Kent State. During his tenure as head coach at Alabama, Saban produced a whopping eight first-round draft picks at defensive back, per DraftWire. Kiffin was the offensive coordinator at Alabama for three seasons and won one of those national titles.
When Saban retired in January, players on the roster were able to transfer freely, even if they had already done so before. One of the players who entered his name into the transfer portal was cornerback Trey Amos, who played one season at Alabama after starting his career at Louisiana.
“When news broke out about Coach Saban leaving, I had some doubts, like anybody else would,” Amos, a senior, said. “ … Once I entered the transfer portal, I started to think, ‘Where should I choose?’”
Amos, listed at 6-foot-1, 200 pounds, played in 14 games with the Crimson Tide in 2023, making 12 tackles with five pass breakups. He was listed as a four-star transfer and is ranked as the No. 44 player overall in the transfer portal by 247Sports. Amos made 59 tackles over three seasons with the Ragin’ Cajuns and had 13 passes defended.
A player — or coach, for that matter — who worked under Saban is already well ahead of the learning curve and also has the right mentality, Kiffin said. That’s no small advantage when putting together a roster.
“We had looked at him before and really thought he was a special, unique player … He is a really good player and phenomenal work ethic, phenomenal culture guy,” Kiffin said. “I think, too, when you get — just like we ended up hiring … people over time from Alabama — you know what you’re getting from Coach Saban. I think when you get players, but especially DBs, you know how they’ve been trained and what they’re used to. So, I think that also helps in this instance.
“ … You used to interview people and err on the side of hiring people that you knew what you were getting, because you knew (Saban) had trained them. … When you spin that forward to a player, especially a defensive back, you know obviously they’ve been coached really well, but you also know their mindset. And that’s a big deal.”
Amos said he had a preexisting relationship with Rebels defensive coordinator Pete Golding, as he tried to recruit Amos when he entered the transfer portal the first time. Prior to his time at Ole Miss, Golding served as Alabama’s defensive coordinator. Amos said the system Alabama ran last season is close to what Ole Miss currently deploys. He also said his strength is press-man coverage.
“I chose Ole Miss (because) I feel like it was pretty much the same system, but really more simple,” Amos said. “ … So I can really play fast and just try to make plays.”
Kiffin confirms hiring of Mike Williams
247Sports’ Matt Zenitz reported Tuesday morning that Ole Miss has hired Mike Williams “in a high-ranking personnel role.” Williams worked in player personnel with the San Francisco 49ers and Los Angeles Rams previously.
Kiffin confirmed Williams’ hire Tuesday at his weekly press conference and discussed the importance of having talent evaluators in an era with NIL and the transfer portal.
“You need to have really good personnel people, because now you have, just like the NFL, you have all these investment pieces, where people are paying players. So, another evaluation and a really good evaluator that has an NFL background that Harbaugh signed off on with me, is really important,” Kiffin said. “So, you put somebody like that and then they’re scouting all the players around, and your own players, just like you would in the NFL. … There’s times now where you have to make decisions. I don’t know what other people do, I hear a lot of other people just like, ‘Oh we want these players,’ so the collective goes and pays them and tries to get them. We don’t look at it that way. We’re like, ‘What is a player’s value comparable to what you have, compared to what’s out there?’”
You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 44 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 44 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
