OXFORD — Watching Ole Miss football's spring practices is an exercise much like beginning a 3,000-piece jigsaw puzzle.

The pieces are there, but you can't really tell how they fit. Some of them are missing — hiding under the table, between the couch cushions or beneath a black noncontact jersey that usually denotes an injury. Good luck figuring out what this will look like five months from now. There are no pictures on the box to reference.

But here's what's clear: These Rebels have size, and lots of it. Coach Lane Kiffin's offseason mission to add mass has been a major success. It has been talked about plenty.

Less frequently discussed is a point Kiffin brought up Tuesday. Ole Miss will be more physical in 2024. Equally as important? They'll have buckets of experience — and come loaded with the football intelligence and coachability that it brings.

"Really been pleased with our guys' focus," Kiffin said. "Really put a lot on them (during playbook) install, with a veteran team — from the standpoint of an older team, but not necessarily all of them being here."

Ole Miss brought in 16 transfers this offseason. Those players bring on average of 2.94 years of playing experience. Fourteen of them have played at the power conference level. Eight have played in the SEC.

Pair that with the veteran returning starters on both sides of the ball — quarterback Jaxson Dart, wide receivers Tre Harris and Jordan Watkins, defensive linemen Jared Ivey and JJ Pegues, to name just a few — and the Rebels have built a roster that in theory should think of the game at an elite level.

Kiffin, who coached the then-Oakland Raiders in 2007 and 2008, said the spring ball dynamic gives him an "NFL vibe."

"We always have so many new players, but these, I think more than ever, are players that have played a lot, especially in this conference," he said. "So it kind of feels more like — OK, here's the free agency, and here's all these pieces that have experience and have played, some in similar systems to ours — and then piecing them all together."

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There's increased schematic comfort that comes from a second offseason under the purview of defensive coordinator Pete Golding, too. At this time a year ago, Kiffin said, his team was struggling to understand what Golding was asking of them.

He called a session the Rebels executed Saturday the best they've looked on defense, singling out their veteran, physical defensive front for praise.

Kiffin has opted to lessen the physical load on the team. He's doing so again this spring, working to sharpen the players' minds and preserve their bodies.

"We're going to do a lot of practicing, but we're not going to do a lot of tackling, a lot of physical work, just for the wear and tear of the offseason and the season and potentially a lot of games," he said. "I'm not saying we're going to play a lot of games, but potentially the new (postseason) format has a lot of games."

David Eckert covers Ole Miss for the Clarion Ledger. Email him at deckert@gannett.com or reach him on Twitter @davideckert98.

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This article originally appeared on Mississippi Clarion Ledger: How Lane Kiffin is finding transfer portal balance for Ole Miss football