Lane Kiffin Turns Message About Jaxson Dart Relationship Into Recruiting Pitch, Probably Shades Auburn Too

You're always recruiting in college football, no matter the platform a coach is given to speak. In the latest case, Ole Miss head coach Lane Kiffin had the perfect opportunity to explain his relationship with QB Jaxson Dart, which also felt like a great recruiting pitch, while another team in the SEC is dealing with turmoil at the same position. 

If you haven't seen the Auburn postgame press conference after the loss to Arkansas this past weekend, one could understand why there seems to be some friction within the quarterback room on the Plains. After another rough performance by the Tigers quarterbacks, coach Hugh Freeze pointed out that his team would be in a better position if they could find a quarterback who didn't throw the ball to the other team. 

"I know receivers are open. We've got to find a guy who won't throw it to the other team," Hugh Freeze noted postgame. "Obviously, we're not doing a very good job coaching quarterbacks right now."

It also doesn't help when your running backs aren’t protecting the ball as well, with a combined 14 turnovers between the two groups in past four games. 

The comments from the Auburn head coach took off like a wildfire. While Freeze did say that the coaching staff has to do a better job with Payton Thorne and Hank Brown, fans were critical of the Tigers coach for openly putting the blame on his two QBs. While it is understandable that folks are upset, it's not as if Hugh Freeze is making those throws, with Auburn leading the SEC with eight interceptions. 

But one of the obvious problems with this Auburn football team is they look like a squad that lacks the killer instinct on both sides of the ball. For fans of the program, they bought into the hype that this would be a different year, with more wins coming their way. Turns out, if you don't have a quarterback that is ready to compete at the SEC level, you're not going to win many games. 

There's also the fact that flip-flopping guys is not going to gain you any trust moving forward. One would think that this situation would've been handled by now, but Auburn doesn't have a quarterback that is ready for this level, but cycling them back-and-forth is not going to get you anywhere either. This comes down to trust, on both ends, from the coaches and guys throwing passes, and it looks as though that's one of the ingredients missing on this offense. 

Never the one to not throw some type of subtle jab, Lane Kiffin was asked this week about his relationship with Jaxson Dart, and even threw in a story of not pulling former QB Matt Corrall from a game a few years ago after throwing six interceptions. 

Do Lane Kiffin's Comments Strike A Tone With Current Auburn Situation?

You can choose to believe that Lane Kiffin had not seen the comments made by Hugh Freeze following the Arkansas lost, if that's your thinking. But in this era of recruiting, especially when it comes to either finding your guy in the transfer portal or developing them, you always have to be sending a message. 

So when Kiffin was asked about his relationship with Jaxson Dart, it was sincere, but with a side of recruiting, and an old story that reminds you of the current situation of hot-potato at Auburn with Hugh Freeze, even though he doesn't mention them, obviously. 

"Jaxson’s a wonderful person. He treats people really well. Spends a lot of time with his teammates and with kids around here, including my son and nephew," Lane Kiffin said on Monday. "Just a really great family person. I think as that relationship, from on the field their is a trust level there. You know, we spend a lot of time with him, and then let him play on Saturdays. You know, I think that you build that, especially for a guy we didn't recruit out of high school or didn't have a previous relationship. 

"I think it pays off when you have relationships, and the quarterbacks trust you too. You can go back to Matt Corrall, when he threw six interceptions (which actually came against Arkansas), before i even got to the media, sitting down with him, telling him we gotta do a better job calling plays, I gotta coach better, and don't worry cause we got your back. I think that goes a long ways, and I think that goes a long ways with kids in recruiting of knowing what they're gonna get when they get here, from a relationship, that they can trust us to have their back. 

If that doesn't sound like the perfect recruiting pitch for a future quarterback, then I don’t know what else to tell you. Kiffin has truly built that special bond between a head coach and the starting quarterback, and it shows on the field. 

But that doesn't mean he can’t take a question and turn it into a recruiting pitch, and maybe a subtle shot at another ongoing situation in the SEC.