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Ole Miss recruiting: Shea Patterson dominates and the Oxford Visitors Bureau is busy again

Shea Patterson is doing more things that are neat and Nigel Knott is an X-Games athlete.

By Zach Berry
Joe Murphy/Getty Images

It has been well-documented so far during the recruiting process that Shea Patterson is very good at football. But, the kid is just not tired of proving people right apparently. Patterson has been in Oxford recruiting at one of Ole Miss' summer camps and went to the Elite 11 Quarterback Competition in Los Angeles and earned a ticket to the finals. This was done while being evaluated for the right to be invited to Nike's The Opening in Beaverton, Ore. and, you guessed it, he was offered an invite. Oh, and he did this all on only two days rest.

The kid is hands down the most important recruit for the Rebels. Ever. And no that's not a typo. Still don't believe me? Peep what QB guru George Whitfield had to say about the prep star from Shreveport, La. Robert Nkemdiche, Laremy Tunsil, Laquon Treadwell have all been catalysts for the upward trajectory the program is on right now, but Patterson plays the most important position on the field and other blue-chippers are starting to see the writing on the wall.

AK after combo guard from ACC country

Shea Patterson is not the only one who has been busy on the crootin trail, Andy Kennedy has extended an offer to a 2016 point guard from the Research Triangle. Three-star Quentin Jackson, a 6'4 and 195-pound guard from Raleigh, N.C. and the Carlisle School in Martinsville, Va., is an athletic young man who can be a scoring guard if need be.

Kennedy knows the importance of having a floor general, but he is also a sucker for a ball handler who can fill up the stat sheet. Jackson, who holds offers from Tennessee, Northwestern, Houston, Harvard, Kansas State and DePaul, competed in the popular Marshall County Hoopfest Tournament in 2014 and absolutely showed out. The slashing guard went for 22 points as he shot a blistering 10-for-16 from the field. Jackson went off the dribble all night to find mid-range jumpers and to get into the paint for Euro-step influenced lay-ups.

Five-star OL visits Oxford

Hugh Freeze and Matt Luke were hosting a big name last weekend as the No. 1 offensive tackle Greg Little was in town to see what Shea Patterson has been chattering about. Despite being committed to Texas A&M, Little has been busy on the crootin trail seeing what others are selling. The 6'5, 305-pound Allen, Tex. native recently went on a swing of the Southeast that included the Rebels and the Crimson Tide of Alabama.

The No. 3 overall prospect in the 2016 class holds offers from Ole Miss, LSU, Alabama, Georgia, Florida, Oklahoma, Ohio State, Miami (FL), TCU and Texas among several others, but ultimately decided to commit to the Aggies back in June of 2014. Now, you could say that this is a lost cause or a prayer for Freeze and Luke, but we know as well as everyone else that getting kids on campus in the Velvet Ditch is invaluable.

Four-star Tide commit still interested in Rebels

Another commit who recently took in the sights and sounds of Oxford, Miss. was a talented athlete from Kentwood, La., Shyheim Carter. The Kentwood HS defensive back/wide receiver has been committed to the Tide since the summer of 2014, but is another croot who is feeling the vibe that Patterson has been putting out there. Carter and his family recently made the trip north to Mississippi to meet with coach Hugh Freeze and receivers coach Grant Heard.

Carter, who will be playing in the 2016 U.S. Army All-American Bowl, is able to dominate at the high school level with his 6'0, 190-pound frame, but he has plenty of speed to burn as well. Earlier this spring, Carter won the Louisiana 1A 100-meter dash state title after crossing the finish line with a time of 10.91 seconds. If that doesn't impress you enough, he's been timed running the 40-yard dash as fast as 4.33 seconds.

Nigel the Ninja is at it again

In case you have been under a rock the entire spring season, I'm sure by now you have seen the four-star defensive back Nigel Knott's acrobatic adventures on the Internet. The 5'11, 175-pound athletic specimen just can't get enough of the Instagram shout outs and Twitter retweets for his services as Mississippi's best hope for an American Ninja Warrior title.

The son of former Ole Miss safety David Knott has a bevy of offers and the list just keeps growing with every trick he performs. Recently, the Germantown High School product was in Oxford taking in the Ole Miss football camp and was hanging out with Laquon Treadwell. Before you know it, the Rebels' All-American receiver had talked him into doing another one of those tricks. Enjoy.

A video posted by @successfulquon on

OVB booming in June

The summer camps are in full swing and the summer crootin tours are also in full swing as Freeze and Co. are entertaining an impressive collection of talent this weekend. The Square will be primed and ready to host a five-star from the Garden State and four from the state of Georgia. Rashan Gray, the No. 1 overall croot in the 2016 class and five-star defensive tackle from Paramus, N.J. is the biggest name who will be in Oxford this weekend. The nimble 6'4, 290-pound road block has offers from everyone after erasing Jersey quarterbacks last year to the tune of 14 sacks.

Three-star Rakeem Hightower (6'0, 190-pound safety), three-star Ja'Quain Blakely (6'0, 216 linebacker), three-star Dee Walker (6'3, 210 linebacker) and three-star Donta Evans (6'3, 230 linebacker) will all be in attendance this weekend as well. Hightower, Blakely and Walker are all members of THE Rush Propst's Colquitt County Packers squad and will be seeing what Dave Wommack's Landshark defense has to offer them. Evans, a native of Lawrenceville, Ga., is now one of my favorite croots because he pulled a prank on Gus Malzahn.

Texas safety getting comfortable in Oxford

Deontay Anderson, the 6'1, 192-pound four-star defensive back from Manvel, Tex. has admitted that the Rebels are on his mind quite a bit. One of Shea Patterson's closest buddies on the crootin trail, Anderson concluded his trip to Oxford with an interesting cameo in a video interview Rebel247's David Johnson was conducting with Ole Miss' five-star QB commit. Anderson jumped into the picture, embraced Patterson and was awfully coy about his current "standing" with Ole Miss. Along with the blushing and giggling, the writing might be on the wall with 247Sports' Crystal Ball predictor as the last five predictions are leaning Ole Miss' way for the playmaking safety from Texas.

Bianco's class dodges draft bullets

After a disappointing 30-28 season, the Rebel faithful are geeked for next season to get here in order to evacuate the disgusting taste in their mouth left from the 2015 campaign. But, hey, look, good news has already shown up! After the MLB Draft concluded Wednesday evening, the Rebels' skipper, Mike Bianco, most definitely breathed a sigh of relief as he saw only two of his signees names listed on the draft board (RHP Chad Smith was drafted in the 23rd round and RHP Andy Pagnozzi was drafted in the 36th round). Smith might be a risk since he is already in the JUCO ranks and might be looking to take the money and run, but prep star Pagnozzi will almost surely show up on campus this summer.

Despite rumors of major league suitors aiming for Perfect Game Top 150 players Nick Fortes of Deland, Fla. and Dallas Woolfolk of Southaven, Miss., neither was selected. To say that this bodes well for the Diamondbearz future clubs would be the understatement of the century (right behind John Cohen is a knucklehead). Now, you might be thinking that this is a bad thing that none of their croots were drafted, but I assure you, it's all good. The Rebels need to make a habit of this and not take risks on kids who are very likely to be taken by big league ball clubs very early in the draft.