Ole Miss football recruiting: 5-star LB Nakobe Dean says he has ‘no leader’

The top football prospect in the state of Mississippi—and the most important potential piece of Ole Miss’ 2018 recruiting class—is still wide open. Five-star linebacker Nakobe Dean recently told the Ole Miss Spirit’s David Johnson that he has “no leader.”

The nation’s No. 1 rated inside linebacker would not only provide an immediate impact player Ole Miss’ greatest position of need, but could be the key in securing other big names from inside state lines. Here are just a few that could potentially follow Dean to Oxford if he were to make the pledge in December:

• 4-star ATH Brandon Turnage (committed to Alabama)
• 4-star SDE Byron Young (committed to Alabama)
• 4-star WDE De’Monte Russell (committed to Mississippi State)
• 3-star WDE Jamond Gordon (committed to Auburn)
• 3-star ATH Raydarious Jones

The 6’0, 220-pound Dean has 20 total tackles through his first two games, recently leading the Eagles to a resounding win over Booker T. Washington (Okla.) in the Battle on the Border in Shreveport, La. He finished the game with eight total tackles, two tackles for loss, and one sack. He was all over the place.

He even scored a few touchdowns.

If Dean were to sign with Matt Luke and Co. in December, it would be the biggest recruiting win since Robert Nkemdiche. Like Big Rob in 2013, Dean already has a brother on the Ole Miss roster.

As of now, the 247Sports Crystal Ball has Georgia leading the way, followed by the Rebs and Florida State.

4-star Jerrion Ealy is must-see TV.

The Ole Miss commit has been as good as advertised in 2018, scoring 12 touchdowns in just four games. The 5’10, 200-pound running back out of Jackson Prep (Miss.) has also been one of the key reasons the Patriots have won 21-straight games, a streak that is now in its second year.

Ealy, ranked the No. 2 player in the state of Mississippi, is expected to be a top-10 pick in next year’s MLB Draft, making it unlikely that he’ll ever show up in Oxford. He recently played in the Under Armour all-star baseball game in Chicago and showed out.

We discussed the risks of going pro straight out of high school on Podcast Rebellion earlier this summer and the rosters in today’s MLB are becoming older and older, but it still remains to be seen what Ealy does.

We won’t find out until the Spring when the MLB Draft happens.

Until then, he’s going to run Mississippi’s 4A division ragged.

4-star Eric Gray continues his torrid start.

The Michigan commit and Lausanne Collegiate School (Tenn.) running back faced off against Whitehaven (Tenn.) at Rhodes College in Memphis and came away with an entertaining 26-23 overtime win. Lausanne’s winning streak is now up to 30 games, a Shelby County record.

Rebel Grove’s Russell Johnson was on the ground for the phenomenal game and said “the game lived up to the hype”.

Gray had 160 yards rushing in the first half and finished with 300-plus by game’s end. After fumbling the ball away in regulation in the red zone, the 5’10, 191-pounder scored the game-winner to push his team to 3-0 on the season.

Through three games, the nation’s No. 3 all-purpose back has already run for 809(!) yards and nine touchdowns, averaging 270 yards per game on the ground. The Rebels are going to recruit Gray to the very end despite his verbal pledge to Jim Harbaugh and the Wolverines.

The All-American Bowl participant will almost certainly be in attendance this weekend for the SEC home opener against Alabama and you can bet he will be keeping a close on Scottie Phillips and the Ole Miss rushing attack.