#TheNetwork Files: An Ole Miss LB commit is transferring to IMG Academy

Last week, three-star outside linebacker commit Jaqwondis Burns was informed by the DEC that he and a few more of his teammates would not be eligible to compete in football games this year for Dallas Skyline High School due to transferring for sports only.

Three-star linebacker Jaqwondis Burns and Class of 2022 defensive lineman Keithian “Bear” Alexander — who both transferred to Skyline from Terrell — were ruled ineligible for one year of varsity competition by the District 8-6A executive committee and were ruled to have transferred for athletic purposes. Burns, committed to Ole Miss, is rated the 39th-best outside linebacker in the nation in the Class of 2020 and is No. 21 in SportsDay’s Area Top 100.

Without getting off on too much of a tangent, my response is this:

NO SHIT THEY’RE TRANSFERRING FOR SPORTS.

He and his fellow teammates are very talented athletes who are wanting to play for a better football program at a better school in order to position themselves better for their future. Are we really going to do this THE WEEK THAT SCHOOL STARTS just to prove a moral point and be heroes here? C’mon, GTFOH.

With all that said, news broke on Monday, via Sam Spiegelman of Rivals.com, that Burns has found a new home and it will be in the Sunshine State at a familiar place for Ole Miss fans.

This is a great opportunity for the Rebel commit to get some more exposure, play against a top-notch, national schedule, and to prove himself worthy day in and day out at practice against the nation’s best. The Ascenders have six prospects in the top 400 of the 2020 class and now Jaqwondis will have the chance to work with them every day.

Alexander, Burns’ teammate and brother, both visited Oxford earlier this year for an unofficial visit right before Jaqwondis pulled the proverbial trigger and committed to linebackers coach Jeff Koonz and the Ole Miss Rebels. Alexander is a highly-sought after target for the 2022 class and was recently tabbed as the No. 96 overall prospect by 247Sports.

Since committing to Ole Miss back in April, his offer sheet has exploded. He now holds notable offers from Arizona, Arkansas, Baylor, Colorado, Oklahoma State, Texas Tech, and Utah among others.

Jakivuan Brown looks the part.

The Rebels flipped one-time Mississippi State commit at the start of the month, looking to restock the Landshark Linebacker cupboard in order to fix the defense. The Horn Lake product is a monster of a prospect who runs a 4.6 40-yard dash and has a 35” vertical. The 6’3, 225-pounder played both ways for the 6A Mississippi state champs last season and will look to hone his craft in 2019 as they defend their title.

As you can see in the video posted above, Brown is a fantastic specimen at linebacker and should be a factor at the position ASAP once he arrives on campus. I expect the No. 50 outside linebacker in the country to see a ratings bump after an impressive showing at Nike’s The Opening earlier this summer and another great prep year for the Eagles.