2016 NATIONAL SIGNING DAY WRAP-UP

Ole Miss wrapped up an incredibly successful recruiting class that tops the nationally-ranked class signed by the Rebels in 2103. This year’s class finished ranked as follows in the national rankings:

ESPN: 4th
Scout: 5th
Rivals: 6th
247Sports: 7th

Coach Freeze, who has increased his wins total at Ole Miss in each year he has been head coach, has now brought in four straight top-15 classes. Remarkably, the Rebels had only two such classes before Freeze arrived in Oxford.

In this year’s group of players, the Rebels have 13 high school All-Americans, three 5-star players and 16 4-star players. Of the 24-member class, 19 of the players were ranked as 4-star or better, and the Rebels have now inked 11 5-star players during Coach Freeze’s tenure.

Ole Miss signed several who are listed as the top players at their positions (by at least one outlet): Patterson (No. 1 QB), Little (No. 1 OT), Deontay Anderson (No. 1 safety), Jacob Mathis (No. 1 TE/H-back).

It’s hard to imagine a school having more wide receiver talent than Ole Miss–and, after today, that’s even more true. The Rebels signed A.J. Brown (Starkville), D.K. Metcalf (Oxford) and Tre Nixon (Viera, Fla), with each one ranking among the top 100 overall national recruits. Ole Miss also signed tight end Octavious Cooley (Laurel) and Gabe Angel (Cookeville, TN), who are also considered among the best at their positions.

Offensively, the Rebels hit the jackpot with quarterback Shea Patterson. The MVP of the U.S. Army All-American Bowl enrolled early at Ole Miss, along with seven other players (listed below).

The offensive line, who will be charged with protecting top quarterback Patterson, is considered to be one of the best classes in the entire country.  Greg Little is a two-time high school All-American who will be looked at to replace Laremy Tunsil. In his press conference Wednesday, Coach Freeze raved about Little’s feet and his overall talent. Bryce Mathews (Brentwood, Tenn.), Royce Newman (Nashville, Ill.) Chandler Tuitt (Tyrone, Ga.) and Eli Johnson (Oxford, MS) will be the mainstays of the Rebels’ offense for many years.

The Ole Miss defense will be joined by some incredibly talented players as well.  Under Armour All-Americans Deontay Anderson and Benito Jones both signed with the Rebels, as did 4-star defensive end Charles Wiley (Stockbridge, Ga.) and 4-star defensive backs Greg Eisworth (Grand Prairie, Texas). Myles Hartsfield (Sayreville, N.J.) and Jaylon Jones (Allen, Texas) are two additional defensive players Freeze and defensive coordinator Dave Womack expect to make an impact in the near future.

At his Wednesday press conference, Head Coach Hugh Freeze discussed his twenty-four newest Ole Miss players:

(Video credit: Courtney A. Smith, The Rebel Walk)

The Rebel Walk will bring you a full profile of each player with a wrap-up later this evening.

February 3, 2016 Signees

Greg Little – OL

Octavious Cooley – TE

D.K. Metcalf – WR

A.J. Brown – WR

Deontay Anderson – DB

D’Vaughn Pennamon – RB

Jacob Mathis – TE

Royce Newman – OL

Jaylon Jones – DB

Bryce Mathews – OL

Jarrion Street – RB

Tariqious Tisdale – LB

Justin Connor, ATH

Jack Defoor – OL

Tre Nixon – WR

Chandler Tuitt – OL

Early Enrollees

Gabe Angel – TE

Greg Eisworth – DB

Donta Evans – LB

Myles Hartsfield – DB

Eli Johnson – OL

Benito Jones – DT

Shea Patterson – QB

Charles Wiley – DE

(Feature image: Amanda Swain, The Rebel Walk)