Ole Miss Power Rankings: Bag Man Szn, Pt. I Edition

Wednesday marked the first of two days in this recruiting cycle where high school seniors and junior college students across the land learn what a fax machine is and how it operates. For Ole Miss, it was a day one should’ve expected, given that Lane Kiffin hasn’t been in Oxford long enough to even earn a VIP card from The Library.

Ole Miss signed 12 players and FILLED SOME NEEDS, BOB. In short, it was not great, but more importantly, it was not terrible!

It’s possible things could jump up a bit on the second day of fax machine education in February, but it’s likely that this recruiting class will be peak transition class, which is fine. Because this class probably won’t have stars on stars on stars, what Ole Miss needs out of it is a handful of solid contributors in another year or two.

I am reminded of Hugh Freeze’s first class, which was recruited when there was just one Signing Day in February, giving him more time to put it together after he was hired on December 5, 2011. Obviously, that’s different than Kiffin’s situation, but the point is the same. Freeze and company found guys who contributed for multiple years, including a few who turned out to be really good college players.

Look at this list:

• Channing Ward
• Issac Gross
• Trae Elston
• Jaylen Walton
• Bo Wallace
• Ben Still
• Mike Hilton
• Pierce Burton
• Robert Conyers
• Cody Core
• John Youngblood

Would take again!

(1) Fax Machines

Still amazed that, in the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Nineteen, these things hold an entire day hostage. Related, if you told me there was a Signing Day story involving Houston Nutt frantically beating on the doors of a Walmart at 5:15 AM because he needed paper for the fax machine, I would believe it with all of my heart.

(2) Signees

It’s an exciting time for them, as they prepare to move on to what’s next in their lives. They should be proud of themselves and what they’ve accomplished, especially their ability, with the sending of a fax, to make adults around the country spend 45 minutes writing 1200-word posts on the nearest message board about how their school’s class is better off without them.

(3) Lane Kiffin

I just now noticed the header image he uses on his Twitter dot com page.

ALWAYS TWEET.

(4) Blake Gideon

(4) Randy Clements

These two coaches are the latest additions to Kiffin’s staff, and I have no idea if it will work out with them or if they love Ole Miss. However, I do know that they did not coach with Hugh Freeze or Matt Luke, and that’s all I need to hear.

(6) Matt Corral BACK

Our NFL arm talent, gun-slinging son decided not to transfer, which is good news for a couple of reasons. One, Ole Miss needs as many options as possible at quarterback to find a starter that can make the offense more consistent and less dependent on explosive plays.

And two, because I don’t value my time, I spent way too long photo-shopping this last summer and need reasons to tweet it more.

(7) Mystery Croots

All indications are that Kiffin and company will change direction in terms of the players they’ll be recruiting, which opens the door for CRYPTIC MESSAGES AND PRIVATE, NAY, SECRET COMMITS. I, for one, welcome the potential chaos and adults’ emotional states being held hostage by the decisions of teenagers.

(8) We Are All 9,000 Years Old

I remember when Frank Gore was likely headed to Ole Miss during the David Cutcliffe era. Unfortunately for Ole Miss, the Miami bag men went to work and made sure Gore stayed in Florida.

I also remember the following season when Gore, a freshman, ran for 124 yards and two touchdowns on 6 carries in a Thursday night game against West Virginia. What I don’t remember is whether I walked into the nearest national forest intent on disappearing or sat on the cold bathroom floor, silently weeping.

(9) Bahamas Bowl

(9) Tropical Smoothie Cafe Frisco Bowl

Bowl season kicks off Friday with a pair of games. One is coming to you live from Nassau, Bahamas, where I assume, based on James Bond movies, everyone will be in formal white jackets and very good at baccarat. Or, since Bond would parachute into these games and take everyone’s money, maybe everyone in Nassau is terrible at baccarat.

The second game will come to you live from Frisco, Texas, a somewhat less exotic location but 100 percent more metroplex than Nassau.

Because it’s been a couple of weeks since the people could get multiple game action, I give you reasons to watch these games.

Charlotte (+6.5) vs. Buffalo

Charlotte beat one (1) team with a winning record, but everyone and their brother is on Buffalo, so we shall ride with the points against a MAC team.

Utah State (-6.5) vs. Kent State

Jordan Love is officially playing, and this line, which was in the -9 territory, finally dropped below a touchdown. If you got Kent State that high, congratulations to you.