If you ever needed a reminder that nothing in recruiting is final until national signing day, Ben’Jarvius Shumaker delivered it in the most dramatic way possible.
Twelve hours. That’s all it took for one of the most “locked in” commitments in the country to go from shutting down his recruitment to flipping to Colorado on Tuesday morning.
On Monday, he posted that he was done. No more visits. No more pitches. No more conversations. For a player ranked No. 54 nationally and the highest‑rated commit in Ole Miss’ class, that felt about as close to final as this sport ever gets.
Take that risk!! Be different!! #FLIP!!! @coachpun99 @CUBuffsFootball @DeionSanders @Coach_Gunnar @CoachBox6 @Coach_Gunnar pic.twitter.com/cXEOqs4CR9
— 𝙱𝚎𝚗’𝙹𝚊𝚛𝚟𝚒𝚞𝚜 𝙹. 𝚂𝚑𝚞𝚖𝚊𝚔𝚎𝚛”4🌟” (@BenJarviuxx) June 23, 2026
Then he woke up and chose the Buffaloes.
It’s shocking, sure. It’s also bizarre. But honestly, it’s recruiting in 2026. This is the sport now and, frankly, it’s not much different than what we’ve seen.
There’s no official word yet on what changed overnight, but something clearly did.
The easy guess is the one everyone is already suggesting on social media and message boards: Colorado likely came back with a bigger revenue share package. That’s not a knock, it’s the marketplace.
Another possible factor is timing.
Ole Miss is expected to land four‑star defensive lineman Mitchell Turner this week, a slightly higher‑rated in‑state prospect.
Maybe that played a role. Maybe it didn’t. But the sequence of events is hard to ignore.
Not even 24 hours ago Ben’Jarvis Shumaker announced he was “shutting down his recruitment” with Ole Miss
He just flipped to Colorado
Recruiting in 2026 manhttps://t.co/QPrRQqgTWD https://t.co/ibE2VpFJk0 pic.twitter.com/2vrUXmVEcg
— Hayes Fawcett (@Hayesfawcett3) June 23, 2026
What makes this even wilder is how steady Shumaker’s recruitment had been. LSU, Mississippi State, Texas and Colorado all tried to flip him over the last three months. None of them could get traction. Ole Miss felt confident enough to treat Monday’s announcement as the final chapter.
Turns out it was only the plot twist.
This is the new normal. Commitments are fluid. Momentum is temporary. And even the most solid recruitments can turn on a dime.
Ole Miss thought it had locked down its most important piece of the class. Instead, it got a reminder that in this era, nothing is ever really over.
Ole Miss Football 2027 Signing Class
- EDGE Juelz Batiste, Edna Karr (La.)
- QB Keegan Croucher, Baylor School (Tenn.)
- LB Jeremiah Culpepper, Troup County (Ga.)
- LB Jiyez Fleming, Oxford (Ala.)
- OL Wade Ford, Oxford (Miss.)
- WR Tra’Von Hall, Central Tuscaloosa (Ala.)
- QB Crews Jenkins, Brentoowd Academy (Tenn.)
- OL Antonio Keefer, Southwind (Tenn.)
- S Darrell Mattison, Chicago Morgan Park (Ill.)
- CB Taelyn Mayo, Lewisville (Texas)
- S Mason Moore, Baton Rogue (La.)
- DL Marvin Nguetsop, St. Thomas More (Conn.)
- LB David Parson, Douglasville (Ga.)
- DL Jamarkus Pittman, Memphis Academy (Tenn.)
- EDGE Keysan Taylor, Rockford Guilford (Ill.)
- WR Miguel Whitley, St. Augustine (La.)
- OT Roman Womack, NE Mississippi CC
