Prospect Review: Robert Nkemdiche

January 4, 2013; St. Petersburg, FL, USA; Team Highlight defensive end Robert Nkemdiche (1) rushes during the second half at the Under Armour All-America high school Game at Tropicana Field. Team Highlight defeated the Team Nitro 16-3. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

Robert Nkemdiche

Defensive End

Grayson High School (Loganville, Ga.)

6’5 260 Lbs.

Rivals: *5-star

Scout: 5-star

ESPN: 5-star

247: 5-star

*Nkemdiche is the consensus No. 1 overall player in the country.

Chose Ole Miss over LSU and Florida.

Previously committed to Clemson.

Nkemdiche also had offers from Alabama, Georgia, Oregon, South Carolina and USC among others.

Committed to Ole Miss on Feb. 6, 2013.

Possible playing time in 2013: No matter where he signed, Nkemdiche was bound to see playing time right away. The Rebels have one established end in CJ Johnson, but the other spot is widely up for grabs. The graduations of Jason Jones and EJ Epperson leave a void that is being held by Cameron Whigham and Channing Ward in the meantime. Look for Nkemdiche to grab that starting spot early on as he is just too good to sit.

Wrap-up: An athletic freak, you’d be hard-pressed to find a defensive end prospect more talented than Nkemdiche coming out of high school. Jadaveon Clowney had more upside as a prospect but was nowhere close to as SEC-ready as Nkemdiche. At 6’5 260, he runs an exceptional 40 time at 4.56 seconds. Add to that a 32-inch vertical and a 350 Lb. bench press and you have an elite athlete. He can be disruptive, take on double-teams and shows how powerful he is by fighting his way through the tackle, not around. The combination of Johnson and Nkemdiche on the edges could prove to be the best 1-2 in the nation in 2013 and 2014.