2016 Five-Star Quarterback Shea Patterson says he will announce his commitment on Tuesday

Mark your calenders. This could be a big upcoming Tuesday for Ole Miss.

OXFORD — In the upcoming 2015 season, the Ole Miss Rebels will be starting a new quarterback for the first time in three seasons, as former Rebel quarterback Bo Wallace has held the reigns during that tenure. Right now, we don’t who will take snaps behind center primarily in the upcoming season. However, I believe we have narrowed it down to three candidates, and all of them are more than qualified to become the next leader for the Rebel offense.

During spring practices, we will witness three former four-star prospects collide in a fierce battle to claim that first string status. Those front runners are Chad Kelly, Devante Kincade, and Ryan Buchanan. It will be one of the most anticipated cover stories during practices of the off-season. Even then, I’m not sure if Hugh Freeze will even name his main guy until after game one of the 2015 season. I mean come on, the season opener is against UT-Martin. All three of the above quarterbacks could see playing time in that game.

So we don’t even know who our starter is going to be for the upcoming season, and we are already thinking past their playing times at Ole Miss. Makes sense. Well, that is what recruiting is all about, always looking towards the road ahead and past what you currently have.

Ole Miss currently has the No. 2 rated 2016 class according to 247Sports.com. Even though that ranking is premature, because most of the top-rated prospects from the 2016 class are uncommitted, the Rebels still have a nice set of current commitments. Ole Miss currently has eight committed prospects for 2016, which includes four of the top five prospects out of the state of Mississippi. The class is highlighted with a commitment from Oxford native and five-star wide receiver DeKaylin Metcalf. According to 247Sports.com, Metcalf is rated the No. 1 wide receiver in the nation and the No. 1 prospect in Mississippi.

The Rebels have an opportunity to increase the level of that class. That is if they receive a commitment from the No. 1 rated pro-style quarterback in the country. Shea Patterson is a five-star prospect out of Shreveport, Louisiana, and has been the topic among Rebel Nation for quite sometime now.

Patterson announced via Twitter on Thursday that he will make his decision of commitment on February 17th, which is Tuesday. That means the superstar quarterback will not wait until his senior season to make his announcement, avoiding all the social media drama leading up until National Signing Day. That is like a fan and coaches’ dream come true of every prospect who names their school the leader.

Patterson is a former Arizona State commit. His decommitment from the Sun Devils came not longer after his brother Sean left the program. Besides Ole Miss, LSU and USC are also in the hunt for the top-rated prospect.

He is consider as one of Ole Miss’ top targets for 2016. This largely due to the fact that his talent comes rare in this region and he could very well be the future of the program. Kelly, Kincade, and Buchanan will not be around forever.

The skill sets Patterson brings to the table is as good as it gets for a top-rated quarterback. He has a strong and accurate cannon, but don’t let that pro-style status fool you. Patterson can run on the attack like the best of the dual-threat quarterbacks. He impresses with his ability to make plays when under pressure, which is what Ole Miss has needed out of a quarterback for a long time.