Whiskey Wednesday’s Recruiting Roundup: A New Flip Target Emerges.

In a recruiting roundup a couple of weeks ago, I mentioned that current Ole Miss cornerback commit Bernard Causey was recently offered by LSU. As a Louisiana prospect, Causey will have a hard time turning down the home town Tigers, and several recruiting analysts have predicted that Ole Miss won’t be able to hold on.

With a potential decommitment on the horizon, let’s turn our attention to a decommitment from another SEC neighbor. Amid some early season struggles for the Bulldogs, Mississippi State commit and Oak Grove (MS) defensive back PJ Woodland decided to reexamine his options. Listed as an Athlete or a cornerback, depending on which site you reference, Woodland is measured at either 5’11 or 6’0, and from 155 lbs to 165 lbs. He claims a pretty stacked offer sheet, with bids from Ole Miss, MSU, LSU, Texas, Texas A&M, Tennessee, Auburn, FSU, and others.

Woodland is also rated higher than Causey by most sites, with a composite overall ranking of 558, compared to 1002 for Causey. Rivals rates Woodland the highest among the major sites, listing him as the #238 player in the country, good for the #28 cornerback and #8 player in Mississippi. I don’t say this to sell Causey short; he definitely seems to have either been a late bloomer, or an overlooked gem, given the late pursuit from LSU.

Still, with Woodland apparently trending towards switching his pledge to Ole Miss, the Rebs at least have a chance to upgrade at Causey’s spot. On3 analyst Zack Berry, Rivals expert Russell Johnson, and 247 Sports’ David Johnson, all with good sources within the Ole Miss program, have picked Woodland to flip to the Rebs.

So while it would certainly be unfortunate to lose a potential diamond in the rough in Causey, Lane Kiffin and Pete Golding just might go out and replace him with someone better. And with Ole Miss having already secured commitments from Mississippi defensive backs Shamar Darden and Patrick Broomfield, the Rebs might be able to claim commitments from the top three defensive backs in-state (in addition to absolutely cleaning up along the defensive line).

Other 2024 recruiting news has been slow to trickle in lately, but one other exciting bit of info is that Alabama commit Caleb Odom, once a strong lean to Ole Miss, may be back in play. The Rebs’ 2024 class is definitely a little short on offensive firepower, and Odom would be a huge shot in the arm. A big-bodied receiver/flex tight end, Odom is listed at 6’4, 220 lbs, and is the consensus #45 player overall in the country. Odom was rumored to be headed to Oxford to watch Ole Miss play Arkansas, and while that trip fell through for one reason or another, he has announced plans to take an official visit to Oxford for the Texas A&M game. I’m not excited yet; flipping borderline 5-star Alabama commits isn’t easy. But Odom’s interest earlier this year was very real, and with Alabama looking slightly less Bama-like than normal… you just never know.