If you’re looking for signs that Ole Miss is slipping on the recruiting trail, the latest rankings update isn’t one of them.
Sure, the Rebels dipped outside the top 20 after 247Sports shuffled its board, but the cycle is nowhere close to finished. And the list of prospects who can help Ole Miss climb right back up includes one name who was recently town for his official visit: Antwan Jackson.
The Memphis edge rusher was back in Oxford last weekend, and everything about the trip pointed to Ole Miss being firmly in the mix. Jackson has been a priority for defensive line coach Randell Joyner and special teams coordinator Jake Schoonover, and he said those two have been the most consistent voices in his recruitment.
HoddyToddy!!🔵🔴 pic.twitter.com/JgVRDR3FmH
— Antwan “T5” Jackson 4⭐️ (@twanjjackson) June 7, 2026
He also got a long look at the current roster, which might matter just as much as anything a coach can say.
Jackson spent time with veterans Will Echoles and Kam Franklin, along with true freshmen Landon Barnes and Carmelow Reed. For a program that has made a point of developing high school defensive linemen instead of leaning on the portal, that kind of exposure hits differently.
“I was definitely good getting to meet them,” Jackson told Rebels247’s Kam Wicker. “Guys they have been building up since high school and you see the things they are doing now. Will Echoles has a chance to be a first-round pick this year.”
That’s the pitch Ole Miss has been leaning into.
It helps that Jackson wasn’t the only defensive lineman on campus. Current commits Jamarkus Pittman and Ben’Jarvius Shumaker were also in town, and Jackson said he’s already built relationships with both. Mississippi’s top prospect, Mitchell Turner, was there too. Jackson has gotten to know him through previous visits to Tuscaloosa, and the two have reportedly stayed connected.
@twanjjackson what we doing???? #hottytoddy🔴🔵 pic.twitter.com/FEAXc9coyB
— 𝙱𝚎𝚗’𝙹𝚊𝚛𝚟𝚒𝚞𝚜 𝙹. 𝚂𝚑𝚞𝚖𝚊𝚔𝚎𝚛”4🌟” (@BenJarviuxx) June 7, 2026
None of that changes the fact that he’s a real target for Ole Miss, and one of the players who could help the Rebels erase whatever ground they supposedly lost in the rankings shuffle.
The class isn’t done. Far from it. And if visits like Jackson’s keep trending the way they have, Ole Miss won’t be sitting outside the top 20 for long.
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)
- OT Coderro McDaniel, Brookhaven (Miss.)
- S Mason Moore, Baton Rogue (La.)
- DL Marvin Nguetsop, St. Thomas More (Conn.)
- DL Jamarkus Pittman, Memphis Academy (Tenn.)
- DL Ben’Jarvius Shumaker, Choctaw County (Miss.)
- EDGE Keysan Taylor, Rockford Guilford (Ill.)
- WR Miguel Whitley, St. Augustine (La.)
- OT Roman Womack, NE Mississippi CC
