This story was originally published on SECCountry.com.
With five months to go until 2018 National Signing Day on Feb. 7, Ole Miss currently sits at nine commitments.
The fallout of Hugh Freeze’s resignation has already led to the de-comittment of 3-star cornerback Jaylin Williams, and interim head coach Matt Luke has his hands full trying to salvage this 2018 class.
With potentially serious penalties impending from the NCAA, this recruiting class is crucial to maintaining the talent base within the program that saw it win 10 games and the Sugar Bowl in 2015.
Where the Ole Miss class ranks
Ole Miss currently ranks No. 63 in the nation for 2018, and No. 14 in the SEC. Luke will be attempting to improve these rankings in the coming months with several 4-star recruits still high on the Rebels’ board.
Latest news
The headlines concerning the Ole Miss program have been dominated by the impending NCAA sanctions and the chaos surrounding Freeze’s resignation. Here are a few headlines on the latest Ole Miss news from a recruiting perspective:
- Luke’s interim tag should be removed quickly
- Ole Miss commit Bobby Wolfe de-commits after Freeze resigns
- NCAA should use Penn State model in dealing with Ole Miss fallout
- 6-foot-4, 286-pound eighth-grader has offers from Alabama, Ole Miss, Mississippi State
- Shea Patterson has had friends ask him how much Ole Miss is paying him
- Friday Ole Miss camp tidbits
Offers by the numbers
- Reported offers: 322
- 5-star offers: 15
- 4-star offers: 143
- In-state recruits offered: 23
- Texas recruits offered: 49
- Georgia recruits offered: 46
- Alabama recruits offered: 29
- Florida recruits offered: 60
Commits
- G Blaine Scott, 3 stars, Sciotoville (Portsmouth, Ohio)
- WR Demarcus Gregory, 3 stars, Byrnes (Duncan, SC)
- DT Israel Antwine, 3 stars, Millwood (Oklahoma City, Okla.)
- DT Quentin Bivens, 3 stars, Wayne County (Waynesboro, Miss.)
- DT Ka’Darian Hill, 3 stars, Eufala (Eufala, Ala.)
- DT Allen Love, 3 stars, Huffman (Birmingham, Ala.)
- DE Deuntra Hyman, 3 stars, Meridian (Meridian, Miss.)
- ATH Jonathan Hess, 3 stars, Vestavia Hills (Birmingham, Ala.)
- RB Scott Phillips, 3 stars, Jones County J.C. (Ellisville, Miss.)
5 top uncommitted targets
4-star QB Gerry Bohanon, Earle (Ark.)
https://www.hudl.com/v/24kqAy
Bohanon is the No. 11 dual threat QB in the nation and the No. 1 player in the state of Arkansas. Ole Miss currently has no quarterbacks committed in the 2018 class, and Bohanon’s athleticism at the position would be a big boost. He would instantly be able to compete for the back-up spot behind Shea Patterson in the fall of 2018. Right now, Bohanon is trending towards Baylor, however Ole Miss, Arkansas, and Louisville are in contention to land the exciting prospect. He recently visited Oxford for camp on July 16th.
4-star OLB Christopher Oats, Winton Woods (Cincinnati, Ohio)
https://www.hudl.com/v/24kqXf
The Ohio product is the No. 20 OLB prospect this cycle and is a top-10 player in the state of Ohio for 2018. Ole Miss lacks depth at the position with only 5 players projected to be on the 2018 roster, and no linebacker commits thus far in 2018. This makes the 4-star prospect a priority target for the Rebels, and Oats said in an interview with 247sports that he plans on taking official visits to “Florida State, Miami, Ole Miss, Michigan State and back here (Ohio State).”
4-star WR Miles Battle, Cy Creek (Houston, Texas)
https://www.hudl.com/v/24kvVd
Miles Battle is a top-300 player and the No. 51 WR recruit in the 2018 class per 247sports. He would add another playmaker to a position group that is relatively deep at Ole Miss. There are currently 8 former 4-star receivers playing for the Rebels and Battle would continue a trend of recruiting success at the position. He recently released a top five of Ole Miss, Baylor, LSU, Oregon, and TCU. He visited Oxford on July 14th and the 247sports Crystal Ball projections are trending at 100 percent confidence to Ole Miss.
3-star RB Tony St. Julien, Vinton (La.)
https://www.hudl.com/v/24hXSA
As a junior at Vinton High School, St. Julien rushed for 1,078 yards and 11 touchdowns. The 3-star running back currently ranks as the No. 15 RB in the country and the No. 12 prospect in the state of Louisiana. It looks to be a two-team race for St. Julien between Ole Miss and LSU, however the Rebels are the team trending in the right direction recently. St. Julien would become the second RB commit in Ole Miss’ 2018 class.
3-star DE James Williams, Callaway (Jackson, Miss.)
https://www.hudl.com/v/24fsGt
Williams posted 17 tackles for loss and 12 sacks last year as a stand-out at Callaway High School in Jackson. He is 2018’s No. 2 prospect in the state of Mississippi, and would be a huge boost to the defensive front at Ole Miss. Keeping in-state talent will be huge for Ole Miss going forward in the post-Freeze era and landing Williams would be a step in the right direction. Ole Miss along with Mississippi State and Alabama are the top contenders for the 6-foot-5, 265-poundg DE, with the bulldogs holding a slight advantage at this time. Williams took a visit June 3 to Oxford for camp.
Position breakdown
Here’s a breakdown of the number of recruits by position:
ATH: 1 (Hess)
DT: 4 (Antwine, Bivens, Hill, Love)
RB: 1 (Phillips)
DE: 1 (Hyman)
WR: 1 (Gregory)
G: 1 (Scott)
Geographical breakdown
Here’s a breakdown of Ole Miss commits by state:
Mississippi: 3 (Bivens, Hyman, Phillips)
Alabama: 3 (Hess, Hill, Love)
Ohio: 1 (Scott)
Oklahoma: 1 (Antwine)
South Carolina: 1 (Gregory)
