Get your Rivals subscriptions, anonymous Twitter accounts, and fake Facebook profiles ready, because it's time for the final stretch of the recruiting season! That's right, it's time for baseless speculation, completely bogus "insider information" and the virtual stalking of 17-year-old boys because national signing day is a mere month away! And while we at the Cup are hardly recruiting experts or geeks (Juco aside), we are definitely interested in the pursuit and, as such, we would like to provide you, dear readers, with our hopes, scoops, and wild guesses regarding the remaining blue-chip athletes on Ole Miss' radar.
Rebel Leans
- Tobias Singleton, WR, Madison Central High School- Considered one of the top prospects in all of the deep south, the MCHS wideout has good speed and versatility. He has played roles on offense, defense, and special teams for the Jaguars, and done each well enough to attract significant recruiting attention. Named by the Clarion Ledger as the Metro-Area's Player of the Year and recruited by UCLA, Oklahoma, Ole Miss, and State, Singleton is a prospect few would turn down. He's a Rebel lean because, simply, he has always been a Rebel lean. Madison Central has been good to Ole Miss over the years and we don't expect that to change come this Saturday at the Army All-American Bowl, which is when and where Singleton has decided to announce his decision.
- Nickolas Brassell, ATH, South Panola High School- HIGH SCHOOL NATIONAL CHAMPION Nickolas Brassell is currently committed to Mississippi State but, come on, this guy's a Rebel. Even state fans know it. He and Tobias Singleton will both announce their decision on Saturday and both have said that they wish to play college ball together. Fun aside, a FotC and I saw these two play against each other in the 6A playoffs this year in Madison and there is little doubt in our mind that Brassell is the better prospect. He's bigger, faster, and plays harder than Singleton who is a pretty excellent athlete in his own right. He is also talented enough to play either wideout or defensive back at the next level.
So You're Saying There's a Chance?
- Jermaine Whitehead, CB, Amanda Elzy High School- This is another current Bulldog commit which a few folks are saying could switch to Ole Miss come signing day. He is also friends with Brassell and Singleton and, as a big-bodied cornerback, could see significant playing time at either State or Ole Miss. If I were betting money on him, I'd say he's staying put with State but I'm willing to be pleasantly surprised with his decision.
- Andrew Johnson, CB, Southridge (FL) High School- Andrew Johnson, along with his teammate Gerod Holliman (below), was once a Rebel commit. Then we started sucking ass at football causing the both of them to cut bait. He seems interested in playing in the Big East because, I dunno, it's easier to look good when not defending Arkansas or Alabama's wideouts? (I keed, of course) He's visiting Cincinnati - after having visited West Virginia and Louisville - along with Holliman, making his final official visit to Ole Miss
- Tre Mason, HB, Park Vista (FL) High School - This guy's a huge Auburn lean, but Auburn is also in the mix for what seems like a dozen other high caliber halfbacks who really want to watch Michael Dyer play football up close. I think this guy goes Ole Miss only if Auburn and others ease up off of him due to their courting of other rushers.
- Philander Moore, ATH, Blinn (TX) CC- Even if it's just for his outrageous name, we've gotta sign this guy. He's a return specialist at Blinn CC and a current Utah commit, but he's still going to make his official visit to Ole Miss.
Wishful Thinking
- Gerod Holliman, S, Southridge (FL) High School- Along with the aforementioned Andrew Johnson, Gerod Holliman decommitted from the Rebels after actually watching us play football. The Army All-American safety is interested in Miami (For what it's worth, Al Golden, the new head guy at Miami, pulled a royal cock move and didn't show to the in-home visit he scheduled, per the Twitters.) Louisville and Ole Miss. He is a very strong Louisville lean, though, and I think we would all be legitimately surprised were Holliman to recommit to the Rebels. Charlie Strong has done a nice job of scooping talent out of Florida, including Teddy Bridgewater, the once Miami commitment who decommitted after Randy Shannon's firing.
- C.J. Johnson, LB, Philadelphia High School - Talent from Philadelphia is rarely Ole Miss bound and, until a few hours ago, CJ Johnson seemed likely to continue that trend. But, with Manny Diaz going from Starkville to Austin this afternoon, CJ Johnson has apparently had a change in heart. Of all of the defensive prospects in Mississippi, this is theguy to get. I still fully expect him to ink with the Bulldogs, but he apparently has a renewed interest in not only Ole Miss, but also LSU and Tennessee.
Ole Miss' class is currently ranked #14 by Rivals. If everything were to go the way of the Rebels - and they surely won't - this would very easily be a top-10 class. But, even when most of these guys ink elsewhere, with the Rebels pull two or three of them to play ball in Oxford, the end result of the 2010 recruiting season will be very likely yet another top-20 class for our coaching staff to work with. Issues involving attrition, injury, and downright poor talent evaluation by the recruiting services - which all seem to disproportionately affect Ole Miss - are likely to rise but, ideally, such high-caliber recruits can result in more wins than losses on the gridiron.
That is, unless they're Chris Strong, Pat Patterson, Brent Schaeffer, Garry Pack... you get the picture.