Oh no! Lane Kiffin’s recruiting woes have further deepened. On June 28, running back Akylin Dear delivered a massive blow to the head coach by backing off his commitment to the Ole Miss Rebels. A product of Quitman (Miss.) High School, the four-star RB had been part of Kiffin’s tribe since his commitment to the Rebels on March 30. However, he figured it was the right call to join the wave of departures.

The Ole Miss HC was enjoying some “Doo” cheer by landing the four-star RB Ulysses Bentley IV, but his happiness was short-lived. Dear was the fourth prospect Kiffin lost a week after Jerome Myles, Dillon Alfred, and Corey Amos.

Akylin Dear’s costly departure

Listed at 6-foot-1, 200 pounds, Dear is the No. 29 overall prospect in the 2025 cycle. Being the No. 2 running back, his exit will likely appear costly for Kiffin. Dear carries with himself a record of having amassed 2,000 rushing yards. With this, he earned the second-team All-State honors. But what influenced his decision to leave Ole Miss? It seems that Dear is in a dilemma. “It’s always been a tough decision because you want to stay home and put on for your home state, but at the same time you want to follow your dream… At the end of the day I had to do what was best for me and my family and what made me happy so that I don’t ever have any regrets,” confessed the ex-Rebels RB.  

Dear visited the Crimson Tide earlier this month. Going by the speculation, Alabama seems to tip the nation’s top running back prospect in its favor. How fast the tables have turned for Kiffin and his program! On June 21, the Rebels HC posted an interesting Instagram post. A baby-blue-colored $230k-worth Bentley Continental GTC with a player facing away from the camera, seated on top of it. It took little time for the Ole Miss fans to guess who the player was. Kiffin celebrated the return of his former 4-star RB, Ulysses Bentley IV. But little did the Ole Miss HC expect his happiness to be dampened within a week.

The other three important losses for Kiffin

By far, the one leading among the three decommits is 6’3 wide receiver Jerome Myles. The wideout is a consensus four-star prospect with a five-star rating. Both 247Sports and ESPN rated Myles as one of the Top 30 players overall in the country. The Draper native posted his announcement on social media on June 24.

Following Myles, it was the turn of four-star receiver Dillon Alfred to bid farewell to Kiffin’s program. The 5’11 prospect from Alabama’s Saraland HS looks to be, at best, a replacement-level SEC player. The 247Sports Composite ranks him as the No. 358 player in the class and the No. 54 wide receiver. Then, three-star defensive end Corey Amos joined Myles and Alfred. Currently listed at 6’2 or 6’3 and 205 lbs, even though he is a little undersized for the EDGE position, he has been quite a powerhouse.

Even amidst the departures, Kiffin has been spotted having a good time playing pickleball with his star QB, Jaxson Dart. Is it because he has entrusted all his hopes to his dark horse? It’s now to be seen whether his high hopes for Dart and Bentley IV help him move past this choppy waters.