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As the Ole Miss Rebels will take on the Duke Blue Devils at the Gator Bowl, their opponent will be without a key piece to their success this season on the offensive side of the ball. Correspondingly, Duke quarterback Maalik Murphy will enter the transfer portal and won't play in the bowl game, which garnered a candid response from Rebels head coach Lane Kiffin,
Kiffin would not hold back and say that the current system where players can enter the transfer portal during the season makes for a “really dumb system,” according to On3 Sports.
“It really is a really dumb system,” Kiffin said. “Think of what we’re talking about and what coach (Diaz) has had to address — a quarterback going into the portal, the season’s not over yet and there’s a free-agency window open.”
Ole Miss football's Lane Kiffin gives transfer portal example to NFL
The Ole Miss football coach would give an analogy to if the same rule applied to the NFL, where a player during the playoffs would sit out crucial games to prepare for the free agency period.
“Think about the NFL and getting ready for the AFC, NFC playoffs and postseason, and players are in free agency already,” Kiffin said. “It’s a really poor system. We just try to manage best we can through it. Hopefully some day it’ll get fixed.”
Subsequently, as for Murphy, he threw for 2,933 yards to go along with 26 touchdowns and 12 interceptions and led the Blue Devils to a 9-3 season. While Kiffin would talk about the system, Duke football head coach Manny Diaz would speak highly about his now former player Murphy, despite not playing in the bowl game.
“I’ve got a ton of respect for Maalik Murphy,” Diaz said. “Our story as a program it doesn’t happen this way without Maalik. He’s been everything we could have hoped for and more in his time with us. I’m excited for him and his future, and I’m glad we were part of each other’s story.”
“If we don’t have him for the game, we’ll get Grayson (Loftis) and Henry (Belin, IV) ready to go,” Diaz continued. “Feel good about both of those guys. Move on from there.”
At any rate, the show goes on as the No. 14 ranked Ole Miss football team will face the Duke Blue Devils in the TaxSlayer Gator Bowl on January 2, 2025. Still, the Rebels have a 9-3 season, looking to get to double-digit wins.
