Ole Miss football recruiting: Jabari Small is putting up video game numbers

Folks breathed a sigh of relief when three-star all-purpose back Jabari Small committed to the Rebels back in July. The son of former Ole Miss receiver Eddie Small and the No. 12 all-purpose back in the country chose the Rebs over notable offers from Auburn, Michigan, Texas A&M, and Virginia Tech before his senior season started in order to focus on winning a Tennessee state title for Briarcrest Christian.

Well, so far so good.

The Saints are 2-0 behind the elite offensive production that Small has put on display in the first two weeks. After a week one win over Madison Academy (Ala.), Small and Co. returned home to take on Wooddale (Tenn.) and Jabari picked up where he left off. The 5’10, 190-pound commit ran for 206 yards on just 12 carries, scoring four touchdowns on the ground and averaging a ridiculous 17.2(!) yards per carry.

Now 2-0, Small and BCHS heads to Nashville to take on Pope John Paul II to try to make it 3-0 and another highlight reel-type game.

The nWo has reinforcements on the way.

Three-star Tupelo (Miss.) receiver commit Jaycob Horn played a lot of defense last year and was sort of under the radar. Now he’s focusing more on offense and under the radar no more. Jacob Peeler extended an offer to Horn, the son of former Saints’ receiver Joe Horn, and he quickly committed 20 days later.

The 6’1, 205-pound future Rebel had himself quite the week two performance against Corinth (Miss.) in a 38-35 win. Jaycob hauled in five passes for 193 yards, good for 38.6 yards a catch, and two touchdowns.

Another Florida speedster on his way to Oxford.

Kyjuan Herndon hasn’t slowed down much either two weeks into his senior year. The Jacksonville, Fla. native helped Trinity Christian (Fla.) bounce back from a week one loss to a shootout win against Godby (Fla.), 45-42. The No. 115 athlete in the country had a field day against the Cougars, running for 253 yards and five touchdowns.

His elite quickness and home run speed was something that was too much for Godby to handle and the Saints leaned on him in order to put them away late.

Charles Clark and Rich Rodriguez love what Herndon brings to this 2020 class and he will be used in a multitude of ways once he arrives on campus.

The QB room is going to get immensely better next season.

Ole Miss baseball/football commit Robby Ashford had a big debut in week one, upsetting no. 13 Phenix Central. Then, in week two, he and his Hoover (Ala.) teammates went toe-to-toe with Cocoa (Fla.) and put them away early, 37-23, to move to 2-0. The four-star dual-threat quarterback was pulled in the third quarter when the Bucs had a 37-10 lead, but Ashford flexed his accurate muscles, finishing 11-of-19 for 137 yards.

The first-year starter is a man on a mission after last season’s crushing defeat in the semifinals to Taulia Tagovailoa and Thompson (Ala.). And Hoover’s head coach Josh Niblett has been impressed with his signal caller through the first two weeks.

“I think as a quarterback he’s continually growing and he’s understanding how his energy is infectious with everybody else,” Niblett said, “so I was proud of him tonight and I was proud of what he was able to do as a quarterback.”

The 6’2, 204-pounder and No. 7 dual-threat quarterback in the country is making a push for a higher ranking if he keeps this up.