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Ole Miss recruiting: Rashan Gary's mom really likes USC, Jeffery Simmons now a 5-star

The No. 1 player in the country headed west for an official visit and was blown away. We take a look at how that will affect the Rebels' chances and where a particular in-state Ole Miss target moved in the national rankings.

By Zach Berry and Jeff Gray
Student Sports

No. 1 overall prospect Rashan Gary was out in L.A. over the weekend on an official visit. His mom came away extremely impressed, calling the trip a "game changer" saying that her son "could definitely go to USC."

I learned that USC is a great school academically. They showed me their plan for success for Rashan, how they will implement his classes to his schedule, individualized tutoring. Most campuses that we have been to have the same thing, but I know Michigan and USC are two of the better academic colleges, where their degrees hold weight.

Gary is thought to be a Michigan lean and is expected to be on campus for an unofficial this weekend, but USC might have put themselves into the race. That's not great news for Hugh Freeze, who's chances at a Robert Nkemdiche replacement might be dimming. Freeze visited Gary this week and is hoping for an unofficial visit for the big Crootapalooza weekend on Jan. 29th.

Jeffery Simmons bumped up to a 5-star

After a big week at Army Bowl practice, Simmons has finally been given the credit he so rightfully deserves, earning a fifth star from 247Sports, Rivals and Scout when the three sites revealed their final rankings over the holiday weekend. Mississippi's highest-rated player, who's still deciding between the Rebels, Alabama, Mississippi State, Southern Miss and Tennessee, made a massive leap in Rivals' overall rankings, jumping 47 spots all the way up to No. 15 overall.

Simmons wasn't the only Rebel prospect to see his stock change dramatically at Rivals:

  • Four-star defensive tackle commit Benito Jones rose an incredible 73 spots in the final rankings after dominating the Under Armour All-American Game.
  • Four-star wide receiver commit DeKaylin Metcalf dropped 46 spots to No. 70 overall after a lackluster outing at the Army Bowl in San Antonio.

Freeze visits 5-star Greg Little

In case you were worried that the No. 4 player in the country (according to Rivals) was wavering on his Ole Miss commitment:

Ole Miss commit plays piano and laughs at Twitter trolls

Not only can three-star linebacker commit Donta Evans play sideline-to-sideline, he can tickle the ivory with a ragtime Scott Joplin classic. "I've been playing [piano] since I was in sixth grade," he told SEC Country's Matt DeBary. "I learned to play ‘The Entertainer' when I was in eighth grade."

Evans also told DeBary that after committing to the Rebs, he started seeing "Mississippi State fans saying how I'm not going to be any good and all that ... It was funny to read through it all." So just remember whenever you tweet at or about croots (DO NOT DO THIS) they notice it and will laugh at you.