Typically, the Ole Miss Rebels have retired to being mere bridesmaids in the grand scheme of CFB. The program doesn’t have much historical precedent in comparison to its SEC comrades. An afterthought for the most part. However, Lane Kiffin resounds with anything but typical. Whether it’s his brash sideline demeanor or his unapologetically bold recruiting tactics, Kiffin has never been one to shy away from controversy. But not every headline ages well. 

As with most geniuses, the mastery comes with its quirks. Kiffin is no stranger to outlandish burst-outs on the sideline. Or even some good, old-fashioned trash-talking. He’s even taken this onto social media in recent weeks. An instance of his brashness boiled over on the recruitment front back when he was at the Tennessee Vols. It’s been lore ever since it hit the airwaves as a rumor. The player on the receiving end, Alshon Jefferey, has finally spilled the beans on what went down.

NFL vet and Super Bowl champ Alshon Jefferey was naturally a stud coming out of high school. A plethora of teams were chasing him. But his landing spot eventually came down to 2 contenders- South Carolina and Lane Kiffin-led Tennessee. Allegedly, Kiffin’s pitch to Jefferey involved him berating SCal. Not just the school but the state as a whole. 

In an appearance on ‘the Bussin’ with the Boys’ podcast, Alshon Jefferey acknowledged that he was told he’d be “pumping gas” if he went to South Carolina during a phone call with Kiffin and others. That’s cold-blooded. “I never talked about this story honestly. I would say that I know coach Kiffin gets a lot of slack for a lot of things. It was a lot of voices on the phone call, I can say that” said Jefferey. Safe to say this, Kiffin’s prognosis proved wrong, as Alshon Jefferey did indeed go to SCAL before his NFL escapades. Fascinatingly, he proceeded to let Lane Kiffin off the hook for this commentary.

Jefferey said, “I’m not sure if he said it. My honest opinion, he took the slack because he’s the head coach.” He even explicitly stated that although he’s not sure, he thinks it was Lane Kiffin’s “brother-in-law” who said it. That would be David Reaves, the brother of Lane’s ex-wife Layla. Reaves was a member of his staff at Tennessee. Jefferey also elaborated on how the comment flicked a proverbial switch in his mind about landing under the wing of Lane Kiffin.

Lane Kiffin paid the price of this prejudicial comment to Alshon Jefferey

Lane Kiffin came to Rocky Top as head coach in December 2008. Alshon Jefferey says he was due to make a decision in February ‘09. So Kiffin had very little time to expedite this recruitment. Jefferey stated “Tennessee recruited me the hardest”. Yet, that one throwaway line, etched in prejudice, lost Kiffin all traction with the player.

Jefferey shared his immediate thoughts after hearing the comment. “I’m like, oh. I’m going to South Carolina, I’m not going to Tennessee. I feel like I was a slap in the face. Like, there’s no need for us to talk and have a conversation. I just thought about all the people that went to South Carolina. That is from South Carolina. It ain’t have to be nothing about football, right? That was a problem. That’s a slap in the face” he said. A watershed moment without being too hyperbolic.

A befitting summation of just what Alshon Jefferey went on to achieve with SCal would be that he has his jersey retired there. Lane Kiffin could’ve had him, and maybe this would even have extended his tenure with the Vols, which ended after 1 season. Whether it was actually Reaves or Kiffin who cost them the recruitment remains a mystery. Although over 15 years of discourse at least resulted in some clarity.