Merry Flipmas! Kiffin, Rebels Score Big on Early Signing Day

After an impressive few weeks for Ole Miss on the recruiting trail, 22 recruits put pen to paper today, becoming the newest Rebels.

Merry Flipmas, Rebel Nation!

If you’ve kept up with Ole Miss’ 2021 class in December, then you’ve seen the Rebels class ranking shoot up nearly 30 spots, into the top-20 nationally. Lane Kiffin and his staff have managed to land double-digit commitments in December alone, helping give the Rebels their best class since 2016.

(Here’s a link to all the minute-by-minute action from today!)

With all of the COVID-19 chaos and restrictions of 2020, recruiting in college football looked very different this year. In his press conference today, Kiffin told the media that many of the players who signed today have never even met him or his staff in person. Because of the inability to host on-campus visits or go to meet players in their homes, Kiffin said social media has been their biggest tool for recruiting during this cycle.

Thank goodness he’s mastered it.

pic.twitter.com/ylErKDdAs2

— Lane Kiffin (@Lane_Kiffin) December 16, 2020

Kiffin’s 2021 recruits

Although we only see 22 players listed on the official site so far, Kiffin told us today the Rebels have 23 signees. He mentioned three JUCO signees, but only two have been reported. So at this point, we’re assuming the 23rd will be a JUCO player; we’re just not sure who yet.

Many saw the tide turn for Ole Miss in early December, as players like 4-star QB Luke Altmyer and 3-star WR Brandon Buckhaulter flipped their commitment to the Rebels. In his presser, Kiffin specifically cited Altmyer’s commitment on Dec. 4th as the turning point for this class, as the Starkville native helped recruit other players and hype up the program on social media.

After Altmyer and Buckhaulter flipped, next came 4-star TE Hudson Wolfe on December 11th. Wolfe committed to Ole Miss just one day after de-committing from Tennessee. And finally, the last flip came today with 4-star DB MJ Daniels, who signed with the Rebels, despite being committed to Mississippi State since September.

When asked about his strategy when recruiting kids who are committed elsewhere, Kiffin had an interesting response.

Coach Kiffin on what verbal commits mean

With 23 signees as of now, there is still a little room to fill on the traditional signing day in February, and then the ‘free agency’ period that will come as a result of the NCAA’s new one-time transfer rule.

Let’s not get ahead of ourselves though. As it stands right now, the Rebels boast the 18th best class in the nation and 7th best in the SEC. Life in the SEC, man…

Here’s the full list of everyone who hopped on board the Lane Train today…

1. Bralon Brown – 4* WR (92.54 rating) – #29 WR – Fort Lauderdale, FL
2. Luke Altmyer – 4* QB (92.24 rating) – #13 QB – Starkville, MS
3. Hudson Wolfe – 4* TE (91.56 rating) – #7 TE – Savannah, TN
4. Tysheem Johnson – 4* S (90.70 rating) – #16 S – Philadelphia, PA
5. Dink Jackson – 4* S (89.71 rating) – #21 S – Melbourne, FL
6. Markevious Brown – 4* CB (89.36 rating) – #28 CB – Bradenton, FL
7. MJ Daniels – 4* ATH (88.72 rating) – #26 ATH – Lucedale, MS
8. Kyndrich Breedlove – 3* ATH (88.50 rating) – #27 ATH – Nashville, TN
9. JJ Henry – 3* WR (88.03 rating) – #71 WR – McKinney, TX
10. Jamond Gordon – 3* DT (87.76 rating) – #1 JUCO DT – East Mississippi CC
11. Isaiah Iton – 3* DT (87.44 rating) – #3 JUCO DT – Hutchinson CC
12. Brandon Buckhaulter – 3* WR (87.43 rating) – #85 WR – Flowood, MS
13. Jayden Williams – 3* OT (86.48 rating) – #55 OT – Conway, AR
14. Demarcus Smith – 3* DE (86.47 rating) – #45 DE – Birmingham, AL
15. Demarko Williams – 3* CB (86.34 rating) – #61 CB – Atlanta, GA
16. Jibran Hawkins – 3* DE (86.26 rating) – #48 DE – Lawrenceville, GA
17. Cedrick Nicely – 3* OT (86.26 rating) – #64 OT – Gainesville, GA
18. Taleeq Robbins – 3* DT (85.86 rating) – #52 DT – Philadelphia, PA
19. Elijah Sabbatini – 3* S (85.19 rating) – #88 S – Biloxi, MS
20. Trey Washington – 3* (84.98 rating) – #98 CB – Trussville, AL
21. Micah Pettus – 3* OT (84.44 rating) – #110 OT – Madison, AL
22. Caden Costa – 3* K (81.75 rating) – #7 K – Mandeville, LA
23. Still a mystery – maybe 3* WR Qua Davis (JUCO), maybe 4* WR Malik McClain?? Stay tuned…

The future is bright in Oxford, and as Coach Kiffin says:

Coach Kiffin

It was a good day to be an Ole Miss Rebel.

Merry Flipmas to all, and to all a good night!

Jake Evans

Jake, a 2021 graduate of Ole Miss with a degree in Integrated Marketing and Communications, is from Nashville, TN. Along with his work at The Rebel Walk, Jake hosts “The Flagship Football Show” podcast. He’s also a huge fan of the Rebels, Titans, Predators, and Braves.