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With recruits, Kiffin's past doesn't stretch past Alabama

Lane Kiffin
Lane Kiffin (AP Images)

VIDEO: One-on-one drills from the Rivals 3 Stripe Camp in Miami

MIAMI -- Lane Kiffin was fired by the Oakland Raiders. Lane Kiffin was fired by USC. Lane Kiffin left Tennessee after one year amid outcry from fans and controversy. All of that happened. Really, it did.

It’s just that you wouldn’t know it by talking to the prospects Kiffin is currently recruiting as the head coach at FAU. The players themselves certainly don’t. Ask Rivals100 defensive back Al Blades if he knew Kiffin once coached the Oakland Raiders, and he laughs. This isn’t a fleeting chuckle, either. It’s an actual laugh of astonishment.

“Like, the NFL Raiders? No,” Blades says. “I didn’t even know he was ever at USC until you just told me.”

Blades, like many players in his class, was born in 1999. He was eight when the Raiders fired Kiffin. He was nine when Kiffin took over at Tennessee, and Blades and his peers were 14 at the oldest when Kiffin was dismissed as the Trojans’ head coach.

And as for the anecdotes – both confirmed and otherwise -- that have shaped public opinion of Kiffin as a head coach? Forget about it. Those don’t register on the radar.

“We don’t notice things like that,” Blades said. “Some of us don’t even watch the news – or the sports news. I mean, I knew his name. It’s a big name, but I only knew about him being at Alabama. He’s a great coach with a great background.”

Reality be damned. Here, at the Rivals 3 Stripe Camp presented by adidas, Kiffin is a young coach who earned his shot by achieving success as Alabama’s offensive coordinator. Here, he’s an up-and-comer getting a shot to run the show.

Anyone that painted Kiffin’s three-season run under Nick Saban as coaching rehab, portrayed it accurately. And, as it turns out, the program works wonders. “Found Salvation in Alabama” sounds like a country music song, but it could just as easily be Kiffin’s credo.

“He seems like more of a prestigious coach, like the Urban Meyers or the Jimbo Fishers,” said class of 2019 quarterback Curt Casteel, who took home MVP honors at the Miami-based camp. “He’s one of those name coaches. I mean, how many national championships does he have?”

Perception is reality in recruiting, and it’s not the perception of reporters or fans or even his peers that will determine his success at FAU. His name is a full-fledged center stage attraction to the demographic that matters most.

Miami Edison head coach Vick Evans has seen it up close. Kiffin, like a lot of college coaches, recruits his players. He’s observed the interactions and experienced the reaction up close.

“Being at Alabama was the best thing that ever happened to Lane Kiffin,” Evans said. “These kids now? That’s what they know. Alabama set the bar for him. Now, I remember him recruiting our guys when he was at Tennessee, but these kids coming up now? You tell them he was at Tennessee or USC and they just look at you like, ‘Huh?’.

But the best way to gauge Kiffin’s reputation in South Florida is a quick round of word association. Asked what first comes to mind when he hears the words ‘Lane Kiffin” Rivals100 prospect Dominick Watt is fast with a response.

“An Alabama guy,” Watt said. “A guy that wins.”

And so he is. The narrative is all that matters.

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