Big Weekend in the ‘Sip: Ole Miss’ Juice Fest 2022 a hit with recruits
OXFORD, Miss. – Four weeks from yesterday, Ole Miss will kick off its 2022 football season. However, this was a pretty important weekend for the Rebels, as well.
Known on social media as “Juice Fest 2022,” the weekend saw some huge recruiting targets on campus, giving Ole Miss head coach Lane Kiffin and staff a chance to impress them with the program and campus.
— Lane Kiffin (@Lane_Kiffin) July 30, 2022
Some of the big names liked what they saw so much that they actually committed.
Brown, Avery, Conner and Jacobs commit to the Rebels
The first commit of the weekend, Jamarious Brown, a four-star defensive end, gave the Rebels good news without even being in Oxford. The Moss Point defender committed to Ole Miss earlier this week.
@Lane_Kiffin @LetsGo_Bo5 @CoachPartridge @_kbolden @91Geno22USM @CoachJulius31 @CoachRMatthews4 @bam_coach46 @KevinBass4 @CoachChaseJones @CoachDMoody #HottyToddy🔴🔵 pic.twitter.com/zXi5VWEfxR
— Jamarious Brown (J.B) (@OfficialJB16) July 30, 2022
Brown is ranked as the No. 5 player in Mississippi according to the industry generated 247Sports Composite ranking. The 6-4 and 260-pound star chose the Rebels over an offer list that included Mississippi State, Florida State, Arkansas, Tennessee, Missouri, Auburn, Michigan and Texas.
Brown has been a priority for the Rebels for a while now. He led his Moss Point team with 84 tackles, 16 TFL and five sacks last season.
Second, EDGE rusher Neeo Avery pledged his commitment Sunday via Twitter. The four-star player is an impact signee for Ole Miss. He decommitted from Penn State and also considered Georgia.
Locked in🔒@OleMissFB pic.twitter.com/XncxXS9VuW
— Neeo Avery (@Neeo_avery) July 31, 2022
The 6-5, 230-pound Avery is a dual-sport athlete who also excels in basketball. He is speedy, timed at a 4.6 in the 40, and could play multiple positions. His top schools were Ole Miss, Maryland, Kentucky and Oregon.
Third, Jayvontay Conner is a talented tight end out of North Carolina who, on Sunday, gave his pledge to attend Ole Miss. He also had offers from Oregon, Cincinnati, UCF and others. After originally committing to UCF, his recruitment took off.
I’m homeeeeee let’s do it !!! @OleMissFB pic.twitter.com/A20ogDfiPb
— Jayvontay Conner🎬 (@ConnerJayvontay) July 31, 2022
Conner is a really talented player, a natural at catching the football. and one who will be valuable in both the run game and the pass game for the Rebs.
Andre Jacobs, a preferred walk-on wide receiver from St. Frances Academy in Baltimore, committed to Ole Miss this weekend as a preferred walk-on. Jacobs visited Oxford with Avery, a close friend.
#COMMITED💙❤️ @OleMissFB pic.twitter.com/nm0yjDRQtQ
— Andre Jacobs (@dree035) July 31, 2022
Weekend Visitors Who Have Already Committed
First, some of the players who were on campus had already committed to the Rebels.
Three-star safety Daniel Demery from Dallas committed to Ole Miss in May. He is a safety with great speed. He has been clocked in the 100 meters at 11.81 seconds.
Linebacker Skieler Mann announced his intent to come to Ole Miss earlier this year. The Fort Valley, Ga., native has a good frame at 6-feet-2, 205 pounds. He has the ability to add weight and move to the defensive end position in college.
Suntarine Perkins is an impressive athlete who has committed to Ole Miss and could contribute at many positions. The Raleigh, Miss., product is rated as the number one athlete in the state.
A pair of wide receivers who were in town have already committed to the Rebels, Ayden Williams and Cayden Lee. Williams is a four-star recruit from Ridgeland. He’s the No. 20 wide receiver overall and is ranked the No. 2 player in Mississippi in the class of 2023.
Lee comes to Ole Miss from Kennesaw, Ga. The 5-11, 175-pounder caught 54 passes for 1,014 yards and eleven touchdowns as a junior and held offers from 30 of the nation’s top schools. He chose the Rebels over South Carolina and Oklahoma.
Quarterback Marcel Reed committed to Ole Miss in April. The Nashville native is a four-star recruit and combines a strong arm and the ability to run with the ball to give the Rebels a dual threat in the future.
Uncommitted but visiting…
There were several players in Oxford this week that have yet to commit to a school.
Four-star running back Christopher Johnson visited Oxford from Fort Lauderdale, Fla. He has great speed and vision and could bolster the Ole Miss rushing attack in the near future.
Little Rock quarterback Walker White also visited this weekend. He is the top-ranked quarterback in the state and ranked No. 12 nationally.
Possible Flips in the ‘Sip?
Some players have committed elsewhere, but Ole Miss had the opportunity to change their minds this weekend.
Safeties Braxton Myers (Southern Cal) and Jamel Johnson (Texas) and DaKaari Nelson (Penn State) were all in Oxford. Offensive lineman Tyree Adams (LSU), tight end Lawson Luckie (Georgia) and running back Braylon Russell (Arkansas) were also in town getting the Ole Miss experience. Adams committed to the Tigers Saturday.
Underclassmen in town
Not only were players who could be on campus next season in Oxford, so were some underclassmen.
Class of 2024 players, Jordan Lockhart, Charleston Collins, Kamarion Franklin and Demond Williams, Jr., each still have a high school season left. Jarcoby Hopson was in town also, and he does not graduate high school until 2025.
Franklin, out of Lake Cormorant, and his teammate, Hopson, were in town Friday before then heading to College Station Saturday.
Franklin is a class of 2024, but is already a 5-star according to 247Sports. He is the No. 4 defensive lineman in the country and the No. 1 player in the state of Mississippi. He holds offers from Ole Miss, Mississippi State, Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, LSU, Tennessee, Texas A&M, South Carolina, Texas, Oklahoma, Florida State, Indiana, Iowa, Memphis, Miami (Ohio), Michigan, Michigan State and others.
Stay tuned to The Rebel Walk for all your recruiting updates. Click here to follow our Director of Recruiting, Lee Ann Herring, on Twitter as she brings you all the latest.
(Feature image credit: Lee Ann Herring, The Rebel Walk)
Steve Barnes
Steve Barnes joins The Rebel Walk staff as a senior writer and brings a trifecta of journalistic experience. As a writer, he has covered college sports for Rivals.com, Football.com and SaturdayDownSouth.com as well as served as a beat writer for various traditional newspapers.
He has been a broadcaster for arena football and several national tournament events for the National Junior College Athletic Association as well as hosting various shows on radio.
A former sports information director at Albany (Ga.) State University and an assistant at Troy and West Florida, he has helped host many NCAA conference, regional and national events, including serving five years on the media committee of the NCAA Division II World Series.
Barnes, a native of Pensacola, Fla., attended Ole Miss in 1983-84, where his first journalism teacher was David Kellum. The duo has come a long way since that time.
He will bring a proven journalistic track record, along with a knack for finding the out-of-the-ordinary story angles to The Rebel Walk.
Barnes continues to reside in Pensacola a mere ten minutes from the beach because he does have taste and a brain.
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