If there’s been a theme to Ole Miss recruiting since Lane Kiffin packed up for Baton Rouge, it’s this: the Rebels are trying to get back what they lost. And June 12 might end up being the day we find out how successful that effort really is.
Two former commits, Ridgeland safety Trae Collins and Callaway offensive tackle Li’Marcus Jones, will both be in Oxford that weekend for official visits.
Locked n @drm_12 @OleMissFB @CoachTMc @TimSteward__ pic.twitter.com/Lb1vbtTXJj
— supaman (@TraeCollins27) February 17, 2026
Officially visit locked in with @OleMissFB @CoachGolding @drm_12 @CoachGarrisonOL @ReggieBuchanan @wpg_coach_rip @coach_tko @ChadSimmons_ @TomLoy247 pic.twitter.com/vdY4Zu7uoN
— Li'Marcus “BUG” Jones (@limarcusjones74) February 16, 2026
It’s hard to script it any cleaner. Two Mississippi kids, two early Ole Miss priorities, two players who backed off their pledges right around the coaching change. Now they’re coming back through the door at the same time.
Collins was the first domino. He committed early, looked like a long‑term anchor in the 2027 class, then reopened things after Kiffin left. His decommitment wasn’t messy — he thanked the staff, said he needed to explore his options, and moved on. Since then, he’s added offers from Michigan, Mississippi State, Kentucky, and Georgia Tech, and he’s settled in at Ridgeland after transferring from Hazlehurst.
He’s also turned into one of the most productive defensive backs in the state: 55 tackles, 10 pass breakups, five interceptions, and the kind of length (6‑2, 175-pounds) that every SEC staff wants. Rivals has him as a Top‑200 player nationally and a Top‑20 safety. That’s not someone you let drift too far away.
Ole Miss hasn’t. Safeties coach Wes Neighbors, Pete Golding, and Donte Moncrief have all stayed on him, and the June 12 visit feels like a chance to reset the relationship.
He’s also visiting Mississippi State, but if Ole Miss pushes, it’s hard not to see the Rebels right back in the middle of this one.
And then there’s Jones, the 6‑foot‑5, 300‑pound tackle from Callaway who committed to Ole Miss more than a year ago, then stepped back to slow things down. His first offer came from the Rebels, and he talked about how surreal that moment was.
“It was awesome,” Jones said. “I couldn’t believe I was receiving my first offer.”
His official visit will land almost exactly a year after he decommitted.
Timing doesn’t always mean something in recruiting, but sometimes it does. If John Garrison and the staff decide he’s a priority again, Ole Miss is in a good spot to bring him back.
That’s really the story here: the Rebels aren’t trying to reinvent their 2027 class. They’re trying to restore it. Coaching changes always shake loose a few commitments, and Ole Miss felt that when Kiffin left. But Golding and his staff have been steady, patient, and intentional about reconnecting with the players they identified early.
June 12 won’t decide the whole class, but it might tell us how much ground Ole Miss has made up. Two former commits, one weekend, and a chance to rebuild what the program briefly lost.
Feels like a pretty important checkpoint in the post‑Kiffin reset.
