In high school recruiting, coaches will take all the help they can get.
Ole Miss coach Pete Golding may get some help from an unlikely place in the recruitment of five-star running David Gabriel Georges.
The Baylor School (Chattanooga, Tenn.) star cut down his list of interested schools to eight back in December and included Ole Miss along with Ohio State, Tennessee, Georgia, Auburn, Miami, Texas and Alabama.
Ohio State is the “leader in the clubhouse” to land Gabriel Georges along with Tennessee, but OM Spirit’s Zach Berry is reporting that Ole Miss is still in contention.
“Most assume he is headed to either Ohio State or Tennessee. But sources tell OMSpirit “not so fast”. The 6-foot, 205 pound recruit has been adamant about his intrigue for the Ole Miss program even without Lane Kiffin. In fact, the interest went up when Pete Golding took over.”
The No. 2 overall running back in the Class of 2027 made those decisions after Lane Kiffin and running backs coach Kevin Smith went to LSU and the Tigers didn’t make the cut. That’s noteworthy because Kiffin and Smith would’ve been the two primary recruiters.
Gabriel Georges had a huge junior season that led to his ascension up the recruiting ranks. He had more than 1,600 yards and 25 touchdowns in 2025. But he’ll be at a new school next season, with a familiar name to Ole Miss fans at quarterback.
A Helping Hand
Quarterback Keegan Croucher is one of two players committed to Ole Miss as part of the 2027 signing class. The four-star quarterback is also joining Baylor School for his senior season after playing at Cheshire Academy (Conn.) last season.
Croucher and Gabriel Georges are about to spend a lot of time together and Baylor School is a boarding school. It may not lead to anything, but it’ll certainly help Golding and the Rebels with an in-house recruiter for one of the nation’s best high school recruits.
Despite appearing in just nine games as a junior, Croucher still put together a productive season, throwing for 1,692 yards and 16 touchdowns while leading Cheshire Academy to a 7–3 record. Earlier in his career, the 6-foot-5, 200-pound quarterback threw for 2,052 yards and 20 touchdowns as a sophomore, then nearly 3,000 yards and 31 scores as a freshman at Fonda-Fultonville (N.Y.) in 2023.
