We are at a time in Ole Miss football history where we are more worried about recruiting than ever before. Most of us are worried about the NCAA fiasco and what it’s doing to this class. We are actually doing pretty well considering. But what about the classes beyond 2018?
Ole Miss football fans will be happy to know there is reason to be excited about the future of Ole Miss football recruiting. Especially with the 2019 and 2020 Rebel recruiting classes. Oh the very near future may be a little sketchy, maybe even a little scary. However, the distant future is very bright.
This isn’t like the Brewer days when Ole Miss suffered dearly as a result of NCAA sanctions. No, today we have social media and as much as our rivals try to use it against us on the recruiting front, it is a valuable recruiting tool. Nothing can prevent highly touted recruits from using social media to share their experiences of certain schools with other great prospects.
For example, Under-Armour All-American and Ole Miss commit Blaine Scott is in Oxford and he is really happy to be there. In fact he is so happy to be there he is taking to social media to share the experience.
https://twitter.com/blaine_scott54/status/870249323505831936
It’s the little things like this from a standout commit which other players read and follow. We know it works because it has before. Look back at the 2016 class and how much influence Shea Patterson played as commit/recruiter way before signing day ever came. Let’s take a look at some of the guys who may be watching social media really close. These players represent the 2019 and 2020 classes.
2019 Ole Miss Football Recruiting
Ole Miss Rebels Football
Ole Miss already has a commitment for 2019. According to Scout.com, as of May 28 Ole Miss has received a verbal commitment from Bobby Wolfe of James Madison HS in Houston, Texas.
After last season, any Ole Miss football fan can appreciate a good CB. At 6’2″ and 175 lbs, Wolfe definitely has the size to play in the SEC secondary.
Of course, Wolfe is just entering his junior year of highschool so at this point he is still unrated. However, I fully expect that to change. He has mad skills. Just watch the video at scout.com and see for yourself.
In fact while you’re there be sure to read Yancey Porter‘s piece about Wolfe. It’s a great piece and it proves how much fans really do make a difference. Ole Miss is lucky to get a verbal from this very talented and dedicated young player.
2019 Prospects
Of course, there are a huge number of prospects which Ole Miss football has its eye on for the 2019 class. Although there are only medium interest prospects which have their sights set on Ole Miss, that will likely change moving forward. In fact, A few really jump off the page when you survey the list.
One prospect which really stands out is Louisville, Mississippi native and 4-star DT Charles Moore. At 6’4″ and 254 lbs he might sound lite for a DT, however he plays much bigger. Here is Moore’s video from Scout.com where he lines up at DE. Moore has his top six schools as Ole Miss, Alabama, Georgia, Miss State, Southern Miss and Tulane.
One other player which jumped out was 4-star WR Jalen Curry of Stafford HS in Stafford, Texas. He is a prototypical Ole Miss WR at 6’3″ and 195 lbs. Here is a highlight video from the Nike Opening Regional. He has medium interest in ten schools which include Ole Miss, Auburn, Texas A&M, Baylor, Michigan and FSU among others.
Could high-powered offensive coordinator Phil Longo be the key to more commitments from the Lone Star State? If he proves to be able to put up numbers at Ole Miss the way he did at Sam Houston State it shouldn’t be much of a problem.
Now About 2020
As of today Ole Miss football recruiting has no commits for the 2020 class and only 20 medium interest prospects. Of course, we are talking about players only entering their sophomore seasons in high school. However, if they are good enough to be listed on Scout.com at this point then I’d say they are certainly deserve extra attention.
One of my favorites is QB Jack Miller out of Chaparral HS in Scottsdale, Arizona. I myself will be contributing more about Miller in the future. Miller measures out at 6’3″ and weighs in at 195 lbs and certainly knows his way around high school football only as a soon to be sophomore.
According to scout.com, Miller has medium interest in six schools which include Ole Miss, Arizona, Arizona State, Florida State, La Tech and Memphis State. Whew, that may sound like some tough competition for Ole Miss when it comes to Jack Miller. However, I did run across this article by Brad Logan of Gridironnow.com on Jack Miller and Miller’s obvious love for Ole Miss. This says a lot, however a lot can happen between now and 2020. Miller would be a huge get for Ole Miss football and Rebel recruiting.
Other Notable 2020 Prospects
A couple other players who made me take notice and both are Mississippi players with medium interest in Ole Miss football at this point. One is DT McKinnley Jackson out of George County HS in Lucedale. At 6’2″ and 288 lbs Jackson is easily big enough to play the position in the SEC. Right now, Jackson has medium interest in two other schools besides Ole Miss. They are Louisiana-Lafayette and Southern Miss.
The other player is one many Rebel fans who live near Ole Miss may know of. From Oxford HS Jeremiah Pegues is a 6’3.5″ 245 lb TE. Of course, he is easily big enough to play TE on the SEC level. For now Pegues only school of interest is Ole Miss. With the history Ole Miss has of producing professional tight-ends, it shouldn’t be hard to keep his interest in Ole Miss growing and his school list low.
Although 2020 is a long way away, it never hurts to know what is lying ahead on the recruiting road. A lot can happen in a young player’s career and life which may help him make his mind solid on commitment.
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On the other hand, a whole lot can happen to push him to another school. For now we play wait and see with future recruiting for Ole Miss football. Of course, we’ve gotten pretty good at waiting lately.