Kiffin addressed relationship with Hugh Freeze ahead of his return to Oxford

OXFORD, Miss. (WCBI)- Lane Kiffin and the 15th ranked Ole Miss Rebels host Liberty this weekend. Former Rebels head coach Hugh Freeze will make his return to Oxford after resigning in 2017 after university officials found a “pattern of personal misconduct”.

“I know Hugh a little bit from when my brother Chris worked here. He was always good to him,” Kiffin said. “Talked to him before when he hired Corey Batoon. I was at a restaurant when he was in town and he came by and sat down for a bit. Great respect, was on the other side when he beat us twice (Kiffin was Alabama’s offensive coordinator at the time). Has done a great job wherever he has been and runs a very unique offense that has always given people problems.”

As far as his team is concerned, Kiffin has never seen so many injuries on one side of the ball. QB Matt Corral didn’t practice Monday and Kiffin said if the game was on Monday, receivers Jonathan Mingo, Braylon Sanders and Dontario Drummond wouldn’t be available.

Liberty is 7-2 on the season, Kiffin referred to Malik Willis as a first-round QB and called the Flames an SEC opponent. Kickoff is Saturday at 11 AM on the SEC Network.