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Ole Miss recruiting: Oxford Visitors Bureau will be busy this weekend

The IMG duo will be in town along with a bevy of Ole Miss targets and commits. And we check in on a JUCO big man and a receiver from the Bayou.

By Zach Berry
IMG Academy

We've talked about it all week and I don't feel like addressing it any further. This weekend is immensely important for the remainder of the season for Ole Miss. On the field and off the field. Maybe even more important than the now is the future as Hugh Freeze and Co. will be looking to replace quite a bit next season and that is where the wonderful world of recruiting comes in handy.

This weekend, the Rebels will entertain the Aggies of Texas A&M on the field and will entertain a large contingent of blue chip recruits off it (well, they'll be on the sidelines but you know what I mean). Leading the charge is five-star quarterback and Ole Miss commit Shea Patterson. The Chef and his stud teammate, five-star tight end Isaac Nauta, will arrive in Oxford, Miss. after they tangle with New Jersey power Paramus Catholic on ESPN2 Friday night at 6 p.m. CT.

Despite Patterson and Nauta as the only two names listed as official visitors, you can expect there will be quite a few unofficial visitors on hand to catch this huge contest between the Aggies and the Rebels. Most of these unofficial visitors will likely be local commits and targets, but it's the importance of Patterson being on campus with a fellow five-star who is obviously showing interest in joining him and the others in the Velvet Ditch. Patterson's presence should be huge for Ole Miss in regards to being around other commits and targets in order to try and solidify and convince others that Oxford is the place to be for years to come.

JUCO defensive lineman intrigued

Arizona Western Community College defensive lineman Jonathan Kongbo has made the call and will also be in town this weekend to catch the SEC West matchup. The 6'6, 260-pound weak side defensive end and teammate of Ole Miss commit David Luafatasaga will most definitely be watching Robert Nkemdiche, Fadol Brown and Marquis Haynes closely to see how Chris Kiffin and Dave Wommack would use him this time next year.

Kongbo has been a force in the trenches for Arizona Western this season as he has already collected 30 tackles, eight tackles for loss and seven sacks. 247Sports' Ryan Callahan reports that Kongbo is originally from the Congo but moved to Canada as a youngster. He initially started his college career at Wyoming but transferred to AWCC after redshirting. Kiffin and Wommack would count on Kongbo to come in and be an instant impact guy to replace guys up front like Nkemdiche and Woodrow Hamilton.

Louisiana wide receiver keeping tabs on Ole Miss

Patterson High School product and four-star wide receiver Mykel Jones made a splash last month when he tweeted at Shea Patterson about Ole Miss and many started to speculate that he was looking really hard at Ole Miss and wavering on his infatuation with Alabama. Fast forward to now and things have cooled off. But, Jones is still really giving Ole Miss a look for one main reason: Shea Patterson. The 6'0, 185-pound speedster sat down with Scout's Chad Simmons recently to break down who he is really looking hard at for his recruitment and what is so special about Shea Patterson.

Despite being from Patterson, La., Jones seems to be looking to the out-of-state schools the most. You hear the most about Alabama first and foremost and then Jones mentions Tennessee and Ole Miss a lot. Jones likes to refer to Shea as his "best friend" and is obviously intrigued by the offense and how they get their receivers involved. LSU is always the team to beat for Pelican State kids but having the explosive offense and Shea Patterson ready to take the reins from Chad Kelly definitely helps.