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The 2019 #MississippiMade class is currently the focus of the Ole Miss coaching staff, the players, the cook at Handy Andy’s, the hostess at Big Bad Breakfast, the valet at the Chancellor’s House, hell, everybody. This year’s signing class is one of the biggest in the history of this program.
But, Jacob Peeler went ahead and got things started for 2020 this past weekend with the commitment of offensive line prospect Eli Acker last Saturday. The Columbus, Miss. native received an offer from Peeler and head coach Matt Luke and essentially committed on the spot. The newest Rebel commit was in Oxford visiting family when he got the good news and made the decision.
Ole Miss Spirit’s David Johnson chatted with Acker after he made his declaration.
“My (high school) coach called me and asked me to give (Ole Miss wide receivers) Coach (Jacob) Peeler a call,” Acker told the Ole Miss Spirit. “He told me Coach Peeler wanted to talk to me. I called him, and he offered.”
And Acker committed without hesitation.
”Ole Miss feels like home to me,” Acker shared. “I was shocked when Coach Peeler offered me. It is my first offer.”
Blessed and excited to say that I have been offered and will be committing to The University of Mississippi #MississippiMade pic.twitter.com/5vCS4Ebaq9
— Eli Acker (@AckerEli) May 5, 2018
Acker is not yet ranked by 247Sports, but the former tight end should be receiving a star rating and place in the 2020 in-state rankings soon enough. In fact, the Spirit thinks, after seeing him in action at last year’s Southern Elite Combine, he has the makings of a four-star offensive lineman.
Eli also told Johnson that he has his sights set on a few classmates for Ole Miss. He named four-star Oxford athlete Jeremiah Pegues and 4-star Jackson Academy wide receiver E. Jai Mason as immediate targets.
”I do think I can help build this class,” he said. “I know both of those guys, and I’ll start with them.”
How does he fit in?
There’s not much film on him playing offensive line, but from the looks of him playing tight end and some defensive end, Acker is a pretty good athlete. He already stands 6’5 and 253-pounds and has the ideal frame to add on 20-30 more before his arrival in Oxford to suit up in the red and blue. This will be one to watch once he starts making trips to camps and combines and taking on defensive tackles and ends to see how he handles the transition.
The rising sophomore is also a basketball player which should help with conditioning and footwork as he progresses to the trenches. As long as he stays in the weightroom and picks up blocking schemes as well as he plucks passes out of the air, he should be fine.