Coming off consecutive double-digit win seasons, Lane Kiffin has high expectations to meet in 2025. As he continues to work on replacing the production Ole Miss will lose, Kiffin landed a commitment from former Troy running back Damien Taylor in the college football transfer portal.

Taylor committed to the Rebels on Friday with one year of eligibility remaining, per Hayes Fawcett of On3 Sports. He is coming off a career-high 1,010-yard season with Troy in 2024, earning second-team All-Sun Belt honors at the end of the year. He finished second in the conference in rushing yards behind ULM freshman Ahmad Hardy.

Though Taylor has just one year as a starter at Troy, he spent his first two seasons backing up Kimani Vidal, arguably the best running back in school history. Vidal, the 2023 Sun Belt Player of the Year, went on to be drafted by the Los Angeles Chargers in the sixth round of the 2024 NFL Draft.

Once he joins the team, Taylor will compete with fifth-year senior Logan Diggs, senior Dominique Thomas and sophomore Missouri transfer Kewan Lacy for the starting job. The position will feature a wide-open offseason battle due to the graduation of 2024 starter Ulysses Bentley IV.

Bentley is far from the only offensive starter Kiffin will have to replace in 2025. Ole Miss will most notably be without Jaxson Dart in the fall, who entered the 2025 NFL Draft as a consensus top-three quarterback of the class. Walter Nolen, Tre Harris, Chris Paul Jr. and Jordan Watkins join Dart as former Rebels in the upcoming draft.

Damien Taylor joins Ole Miss' college football transfer portal class

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Taylor becomes Ole Miss' fifth commitment from the spring college football transfer portal. Kiffin previously recruited quarterback Trinidad Chambliss, tackle Terez Davis, and cornerbacks Ricky Fletcher and Tavoy Feagin.

Overall, Ole Miss has the third-best transfer portal class in the nation, according to 247 Sports. They only trail Texas Tech and LSU in that department. The Rebels' incoming transfer class currently includes 27 commitments, the fifth-most in Division I.

Despite the overwhelming amount of talent Ole Miss will lose, Kiffin has his team still in SEC title contention. However, the Rebels have not claimed a conference championship since 2003.