Why does LSU football keep hiring Ole Miss recruiting staffers?

LSU football filled a key recruiting role this week and the Tigers turned to a familiar place to do it. Kevin Bolden became yet another recruiting staffer to leave Ole Miss in favor of LSU. Under Brian Kelly, LSU has poached four key recruiters from Lane Kiffin's staff.

Why has Ole Miss become a popular place for LSU to look for recruiting talent?

The proximity helps. Ole Miss and LSU recruit from the same region. The recruiting department at Ole Miss builds relationships and scouts the same prospects as LSU. But for the most part, it comes back to Austin Thomas.

Thomas's title at LSU is Senior Associate AD / Football Administration. In a way, he's the general manager for LSU football. Thomas worked alongside Les Miles and Ed Orgeron at LSU from 2012 to 2017. After LSU, Thomas worked at USC, Baylor, and Texas A&M before joining Lane Kiffin at Ole Miss.

Thomas completely turned the Rebels' roster around. With Thomas leading the personnel department, Ole Miss finished 2023 with its best AP Poll ranking since 1969.

Shortly after the 2023 season, LSU made a move to bring Thomas back to Baton Rouge. And since Thomas returned to Baton Rouge, he hasn't been shy about hiring former Ole Miss connections.

Thomas hired Preston Tiffany, Jai Chourdary, and Bolden to work key positions in LSU's recruiting department. Tiffany has since left for a job in the NFL, but Chourdary remains at LSU with Bolden on the way.

LSU still has recruiting positions to fill after seeing plenty of faces come and go this offseason. It wouldn't be a surprise to see Kelly, Thomas, and LSU dip into Kiffin's staff again.

This article originally appeared on LSU Wire: Why does LSU football keep hiring Ole Miss recruiting staffers?