Lane Kiffin leaving Ole Miss for LSU started an unofficial war between the 2 programs. Since then, the Rebels and Tigers have relentlessly battled for assistant coaches, players and other staffers. Their tussle is raging on even into this weekend, and LSU has come out on top in the most recent altercation.
According to On3 Sports’ Hayes Fawcett, Lane Kiffin and the Tigers have landed former Rebels linebacker TJ Dottery. The rising redshirt senior made 98 tackles (5.5 tackles for loss) and 1.5 sacks for Pete Golding‘s defense in 2025.
Dottery, formerly known as TJ Dudley, began his college football career at Clemson. He was the No. 22 overall player in 247Sports’ Composite rankings of the 2022 recruiting class.
Dottery maintained a consistent presence on Ole Miss’ defense all season long. He recorded at least 5 tackles in 12 of the Rebels’ 15 games last year. His best performance came in Ole Miss’ College Football Playoff semifinal matchup with Miami. Against the Hurricanes, Dottery made 11 tackles and 1 tackle for loss.
With Dottery’s departure, Pete Golding’s goal of keeping the Rebels near the top of the college football landscape is made even tougher. The potential loss of Princewill Umanmielen and likely loss of Trinidad Chambliss don’t help matters, either. Regardless, Ole Miss’ home game versus LSU in 2026 — on Sept. 19 — will be one of the hottest tickets in the country.
