/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/52767487/26389928290_84abb00518_o.0.jpg)
Ole Miss fans who watched Willie Gay decommit in October (though he still lists the Rebels in his top two) are rightly wary of the commitment of four-star linebacker Breon Dixon, who pledged during the Under Armour game. The good news, though, is that Dixon doesn’t have much time to change his mind. An early high school graduate, he told Ben Garrett of the Ole Miss Spirit that he’ll officially enroll on Tuesday, Jan. 17. Once he steps foot in a classroom, he’d have to sit out a transfer year if he wants to leave Oxford.
“I’ve got probably a few coaches, one or two schools, that’s hitting me up since the commitment,” Dixon said, “but I’m 100 percent committed and ready to get on campus early.”
Here’s the part where I remind you how depressingly thin Ole Miss’ current linebacking corps is and how desperately it needs an athletic, rangy playmaker like Dixon, who’s listed as the 11th best inside ‘backer prospect in the country. His 6’0, 218 frame means D-coordinator Wesley McGriff still needs to find a sturdier body to bolster the middle against power run teams, but let’s not pretend to be picky about linebackers right now.
“You could tell right then they needed linebackers really bad,” said Dixon, who was in Oxford to watch State jog laps through Ole Miss’ defense during the Egg Bowl. “That was a big part of my decision. Of course me being an early enrollee, I’m not trying to come in and sit behind or redshirt or have to worry about any of that. I’d rather stay my second semester and enjoy my high school career if I’m going to do that. I felt like at Ole Miss and the way that Coach McGriff wants to play me, I felt like I had a chance to showcase my abilities way more than I would have at Louisville.”
Ole Miss baseball got a commitment from the country’s No. 8 prospect... in 2020.
I’m not entirely sure how scouts deduce that a kid who’s barely old enough to get a learner’s permit is gonna end up being an elite baseball talent, but I assume they know what they’re talking about. Fifteen-year-old Hudson Sapp—who won’t graduate high school for another three years—made a verbal pledge to the Rebels over the weekend.
Proud to say I have verbally committed to Ole Miss to play baseball and further my education. #hottytoddy @OleMissBSB pic.twitter.com/2BXrAksVIU
— Hudson Sapp (@hj_sapp) January 14, 2017
Sapp, who’s listed as an outfielder, is already 5’11, 180 pounds and throwing 87-mph fastballs.
Hugh Freeze handed out some offers last week.
They went to...
- Four-star Stephen Guidry, a JUCO wideout eligible to play next season. He’s had an on-again, off-again relationship with LSU but is currently committed there.
- Three-star Kaleb Oliver, a 2017 outside linebacker who’s committed to Mississippi State and also holds offers from Louisville, Kentucky and Vandy, among others.
- Three-star Rayshad Williams, a 2018 cornerback out of Memphis who’s also been offered by Tennessee.
Ole Miss wasn’t the only school handing out offers though—Ole Miss defensive tackle commit Larrel Murchison received offers from Texas and Houston. The three-star North Carolina native was in Austin for an official visit over the weekend. We’ll see if Freeze can hold off the Longhorns and get Murchison on campus for his Ole Miss official on Jan. 27, the last weekend before Signing Day.