Ole Miss football recruiting roundup: Akylin Dear makes decision, top safety sets commitment date, and other news

Recruiting news has been a little quiet as we near single-digit days until Ole Miss's first game of the 2024 season. Despite that, there has been some significant news about several 2025 recruits and some names that will be in Oxford for the week 1 game against Furman.

In-state running back Akylin Dear makes commitment decision

Four-star running back Akylin Dear announced his destination on August 20, choosing between Alabama, Ole Miss, and Mississippi State. Dear committed to the Crimson Tide, joining another Mississippi native, wide receiver Caleb Cunningham in Tuscaloosa.

Ole Miss would have loved to have Dear in Oxford next season—however, the recent commitment of another four-star running back, Shekai Mills-Knight makes the news a little less devastating.

Four-star safety announces new commitment date

Safety Ladarian Clardy was due to announce his commitment on August 3 but decided to move the date to later in the year. This week, he confirmed he would now commit on September 21, with several visits to his final schools to be organized before then.

Clardy is down to Ole Miss, Washington, UCF, Florida State, and Mississippi State. Rumors were that the Rebels were favorites alongside Washington and his home state team, Florida State. There is now more time for Lane Kiffin to make another push for one of their top targets.

Several top recruits will be on the sidelines for week 1 Furman game

This week, it was announced that several recruiting targets and commits will be in Oxford for the week 1 game against Furman. Linebacker commit Jarcoby Hopsn will be on the sideline alongside 2026 in-state target DD Daniels.

Tylen Matthews, another Lake Cormorant High School prospect like Daniels, will also be in Oxford on August 31. We could see more names announced before the game and expect more throughout the season, especially in those big SEC games.