New LSU head coach Lane Kiffin shifted the college football landscape when he announced he was leaving Ole Miss for their fellow SEC member Nov. 30.

Senior quarterback and Ole Miss commit Rees Wise wasn’t phased.

Wise had been committed to the Rebels for over seven months, and said he knew he was going to pledge to Ole Miss for a year before that. His loyalty didn’t start and end with their head coach.

Wise has dealt with roster and coaching staff uncertainty by trying to create relationships with everyone on the coaching staff, including their quarterbacks coach Joe Judge.

“I have a very close relationship with Coach Judge,” Wise said. “Every time we come up to visit, we visit his home and hang out with him, have pool days and play golf. He’s a very good guy, and it’s easy to talk to him. I’ve only known him for a few months now, and it’s an awesome relationship.”

Kiffin leaving and the quick hire of Judge has brought the Ole Miss recruiting class closer despite seven losses. Judge and the Rebels staff retained several key commits, finishing with 17 recruits in the 2026 class.

“I know who Lane Kiffin is, and I know he likes to move schools and chase championships,” Wise said. “I wasn’t expecting it, but I know who the guy is, so it was going to happen eventually.”

Wise decided in his junior year to graduate early and head to Oxford Jan. 18 after the first semester of his senior year. After taking summer classes and notifying the Ole Miss staff, Wise had the credits necessary to leave early.

“We have already made a group chat, and we’ve already become really close,” Wise said. “We always text each other, let each other know how we’re doing and stuff like that.”

He isn’t the first Chaparral quarterback to graduate early. Four of the last five starting quarterbacks have left before their penultimate semester.

I have a lot of people I look up to, Cade Klubnik, Paxton Land, Sam [Ehlinger], a lot of them 

reached out about the process and helped me out along the way, which is a really big thing,” Wise said. “I was asking Cade a lot of questions about their career process, and he was there every step of the way with me.”

Wise is integrated into Oxford already and plans to make an impact with the rest of the recruiting class immediately, anticipating throwing to the receivers that are going up with him early. 

“I got [Eli Manning’s] number, which is going to be awesome to be able to communicate with him,” Wise said. “So I’m just excited for that.”

Wise’s commitment to Ole Miss stretches beyond one factor. He remains bought into the Rebels entire system, which is reflected in his choices to keep his pledge and head to Oxford early. Wise believes that the Kiffin debacle will strengthen Ole Miss instead of breaking it

“I think that Lane Kiffin leaving will actually be good for us,” Wise said.