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Ole Miss football nabs 2017 QB Alex Faniel

By Tucker Italiano

Jan 1, 2016; New Orleans, LA, USA; Mississippi Rebels wide receiver Laquon Treadwell (1) and head coach Hugh Freeze prepares to take the field to play the Oklahoma State Cowboys in the 2016 Sugar Bowl at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome. Mandatory Credit: Chuck Cook-USA TODAY Sports
Jan 1, 2016; New Orleans, LA, USA; Mississippi Rebels wide receiver Laquon Treadwell (1) and head coach Hugh Freeze prepares to take the field to play the Oklahoma State Cowboys in the 2016 Sugar Bowl at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome. Mandatory Credit: Chuck Cook-USA TODAY Sports /
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The search for a quarterback in the 2017 recruiting class has been long for Ole Miss but on Thursday they offered three-star Alex Faniel and he quickly made a decision.

Ole Miss football FINALLY landed their signal caller for the class of 2017 Thursday with the addition of Virginia native Alex Faniel. At 6’6 230 pounds, he’s hard to miss.

According to Ben Garrett of the Ole Miss Spirit, Faniel visited Ole Miss his freshman year and instantly fell in love. He was attending Ole Miss’ “elite” camp Thursday, and was offered a scholarship by Hugh Freeze and Dan Werner and committed on the spot.

From the brief interviews I’ve watched a watched and read, Faniel (pronounced Fan-yule) has a great personality and loves Ole Miss. Physically, he looks like he could play football at 245 and be a red-zone nightmare for opponents. Although very athletic, he is definitely a pocket-passer first, who can scramble if he needs to.

Matt Bush-USA TODAY Sports
Matt Bush-USA TODAY Sports /

After watching his film, my favorite attribute of his, is that he keeps his eyes down the field, even when rushed, and is not scared to take a shot. When he had a pocket, he stepped up in it, kept his eyes down the field, and delivered an accurate ball the the receiver.

One thing to keep in mind with Faniel, is that he is polynesian and that is a big deal to fellow polynesians. with Ben Aigamaua and Corey Batoon on staff, the Rebels have tried to start a “poly pipeline” of sorts. Adding Rommel Mageo in the offseason from Oregon State has helped.

There are a few more names to watch for the 2017 class including four-star offensive tackle Chuck Filiaga and four-star defensive tackle Jay Tufele, among others. Ole Miss barely missed on fellow poly and five-star, Mique Juarez in 2016.

Faniel committed to Ole Miss over in-state rivals Virginia and Virginia Tech, and other offers from Penn State, South Carolina, N.C. State, and East Carolina. The Hokies were considered the favorite prior to his decision.

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Ole Miss is set for the future at quarterback with Chad Kelly at the helm, followed closely by former five-star true freshman Shea Patterson and four-star redshirt-freshman  Jason Pellerin.

This commitment is big though, because once Chad leaves, Pellerin and Shea are the only two scholarship quarterbacks on the roster. With the addition of Alex Faniel, Ole Miss can rest assured that they’ll have quality depth in the coming years.

Ole Miss is not done with 2017 quarterback recruiting, however.

To be a great team, you must have depth. The Ole Miss staff believes that it must have four quarterbacks on the roster in order to be quality at the position for the now and future. With that in mind, look for Ole Miss to dive into the junior college ranks this fall, after watching a few games and scouting, and snagging a walk-on junior college quarterback.

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