It wasn’t a season to remember at Ole Miss by any stretch of the imagination.
But give Houston Nutt and his staff credit for coming back strong on the recruiting trail.
The Rebels are cleaning up with commitments from two of the top three prospects in the state of Mississippi: receiver Tobias Singleton of Madison, Miss., and linebacker C.J. Johnson of Philadelphia, Miss. Singleton is an ESPNU 150 prospect.
Johnson, rated by ESPN as the No. 9 inside linebacker prospect in the country, announced earlier this week that he would sign with the Rebels after earlier being committed to Mississippi State. But when defensive coordinator Manny Diaz left Mississippi State to go to Texas, Johnson re-opened his recruitment and ultimately settled on the Rebels.
Also this week, cornerback Floyd Raven of Reserve, La., reaffirmed his commitment to Ole Miss after it appeared that he might have committed to Texas A&M.
The Rebels are in dire need of defensive back help, which makes Jermaine Whitehead of Greenwood, Miss., a huge target. Whitehead was also committed to Mississippi State at one point, but has been looking around again and says he will announce his choice on Wednesday.
Ole Miss has commitments from four of the top 10 players on The Jackson Clarion-Ledger’s Most Wanted list in Mississippi. Whitehead is No. 5 on that list.
Not that the Ole Miss-Mississippi State rivalry needs to be spiced up any more than it already is right now, but things could really get interesting if receiver Nick Brassell of Batesville, Miss., also chooses the Rebels.
Brassell, No. 2 on The Clarion-Ledger’s Most Wanted list, is supposed to visit Alabama this weekend. Like Whitehead, he was also a Mississippi State commitment at one point, but Ole Miss is now right in the middle of it for his services.
Should the Rebels close by getting Whitehead and Brassell next week, that would give them six of the top seven players on The Clarion-Ledger’s Most Wanted list.
More importantly, it’s the kind of statement Nutt and this program needed to make coming off such a disappointing season, especially with the “school down south” riding a wave of momentum with the nine-win season and back-to-back victories over the Rebels.