Whiskey Wednesday’s Recruiting Hangover: Rebels Add A Coveted OL Commit.

Ole Miss recently earned a commitment from Natchitoches Central (Louisiana) offensive lineman Joseph Cryer, marking the first OL commit for the Rebels’ 2024 class. Listed at 6’4, 290 lbs, Cryer is a three star prospect with a solid offer sheet. He was also being recruited by Penn State, Mississippi State, Nebraska, Oklahoma State, TCU, Michigan State, Mizzou, and others. The Louisiana prospect is the ninth commit for the Rebs this cycle. Here, enjoy this comically rendered commitment tweet:

In other news:

• If you’ve been meticulously counting Ole Miss high school commitments, you may have noticed that Ole Miss already had nine commits prior to Cryer making his pledge. Well, in this game, you win some and you lose some (much like… all other games), and Ole Miss lost one in Winona (MS) linebacker Fred Clark. Clark recently visited Mississippi State, decommitted from Ole Miss, and then committed to State. When the 6’2, 245 lb Clark originally committed, I wrote something to the effect of: “this is an impressive recruiting win, as Winona is generally considered solid MSU territory.” Well, I guess it still is. Ole Miss will definitely have the opportunity to recruit better linebackers than Clark, but it’s still a loss. He’s not a speed demon by any stretch, but has great size, tackles hard, and appears to have a pretty good feel for the game. So it goes.
• At least Ole Miss isn’t the only one shedding commitments. North Panola (MS) wide receiver JJ Harrell decommitted from Tennessee, exactly 98 days after making his initial commitment to the Volunteers. His commitment to UT seemed a bit sudden and unexpected at the time, and there has been growing noise from recruiting experts that his commitment was shaky. Since Harrell backed off his UT pledge, On3 analysts Zach Berry and Sam Spiegelman have predicted that the talented wideout will end up at Ole Miss. However, MSU crootniks are acting like the Bulldogs are positioned to land Harrell. In this case, I’d bet on the school with the offensive guru head coach, bigger NIL chest, and stacked QB room, but that’s just me.
• I kinda thought Ole Miss was done with the transfer portal after securing Zakhari Franklin, but on Tuesday afternoon, the Rebs took a commitment from Teja Young, a class of 2018 safety from FAU. Young is listed at 5’11, 192 lbs, and has been a big part of the Owls’ defense the last three seasons. He’ll use his extra COVID year of eligibility to play one more season, reuniting with his former head coach Lane Kiffin. While Pete Golding has made hay in the transfer portal, most of the incoming defensive backs have been primarily corners, so it’s good to have another safety in the fold after losing Otis Reese, AJ Finley, Tysheem Johnson, and Elijah Sabbatini over the offseason.
• Almost certainly the Rebels’ top target on offense this cycle, massive wide receiver Caleb Odom has been feeling Ole Miss quite a bit recently. However, after a trip to Tuscaloosa last weekend, the 6’5 athlete now appears to be leaning towards Alabama. Ole Miss was having success with Odom in large part because Lane Kiffin is recruiting him as a wide receiver, while most other schools see him as an athletic tight end. In any case, Nick Saban and co. have thrown a wrench in things, and Ole Miss will have to figure out how to pull back out in front. Hopefully Bama is just benefitting from a post-visit “bump,” and the Ole Miss staff can get Odom back on campus and back in the fold.
• Class of 2025 quarterback Austin Simmons, a Florida native currently committed to the home state Gators, may be considering quite an unusual move: he has the ability to move up to the class of 2024, and even potentially the class of 2023. Like, he just finished his sophomore year of high school, but could suit up for an SEC football team two months from now. Lol. Anyways, Simmons is a consensus top 100 player in the country for the 2025 class (not sure how he would rank if/when he reclassifies), and may be considering a flip to Ole Miss in addition to changing classes. Simmons is currently listed at 6’1, 180 lbs, but who knows how tall he’ll be in college, because again, he is 16 years old. This whole thing sounds pretty wacky to me, so I’m choosing to sit tight before getting too excited, but we’ll keep you updated regardless.