Four-star EDGE Neeo Avery commits to Ole Miss
OXFORD, Miss. — Four-star defensive end Neeo Avery spent the weekend in Oxford, and that’s all it took to help the talented Maryland native make his decision to play for the Rebels.
The elite defensive lineman took in Juice Fest, ’22, as this past weekend’s big recruiting festivities were known, and later announced via Twitter that this would be his next stop in his football career.
Locked in🔒@OleMissFB pic.twitter.com/XncxXS9VuW
— Neeo Avery (@Neeo_avery) July 31, 2022
Avery, a towering 6-foot-5, 230-pounder out of Our Lady Good Counsel High School in Olney, Maryland, chose Ole Miss over Kentucky, Maryland and Oregon. He is the No. 33 edge rusher in the nation and the No. 6 player in the state of Maryland’s 2023 class.
Hats off, yet again, to defensive line coach Randall Joyner and defensive coordinator Chris Partridge for bringing another power player to the Landshark Defense.
With the commitment of Jamarious Brown and Neeo Avery this weekend, it was indeed a huge checkmate for the Rebels’ defensive line.
Currently, Lane Kiffin and company have nine commits for the 2023 class. (QB Marcel Reed, ATH Suntarine Perkins, EDGE Jamarious Brown, IOL Brycen Sanders, EDGE Neeo Avery, S Ahmad Brown, S Daniel Demery, TE Jayvontay Conner, and OT Izavion Miller).
Fit in the ‘Sip
It takes a certain type of player to make it in the SEC, and Lane Kiffin and company are well aware of that fact. The Rebels’ staff is doing an excellent job of getting versatile playmakers they can fit to their strengths. Neeo Avery indeed is that and more.
Ole Miss will take the versatile Avery and likely play him in the JOKER position — this is an outside linebacker in the Rebels’ D.
Avery’s skill-set includes long arms, great length, tremendous closing speed and power. He has been clocked at a 4.6 in the 40-yard dash. Who better to take down an offense than a former quarterback, as Avery started his high school career as a QB?
Avery will fit right in on an Ole Miss defensive unit that will be loaded with power and athleticism.
Hotty Toddy and Welcome Home, Neeo!
(Feature image credit: Lee Ann Herring, The Rebel Walk)
Lee Ann Herring-Olvedo
Lee Ann serves as the Director of Recruiting for The Rebel Walk. She sees college football the way championship programs do—from inside the personnel room. Every evaluation, every roster move, every recruiting battle tells a bigger story about identity, culture, and how a program is built to win in December, not just July.
With more than 15 years covering the SEC and the national recruiting landscape, Herring-Olvedo has built a reputation as one of the sport’s most respected personnel-driven voices—blending film evaluation, roster construction, and long-term program vision through a true front-office lens. Her coverage of powerhouse brands like Ole Miss Rebels and Kentucky Wildcatshas consistently gone beyond headlines, focusing instead on the blueprint behind winning programs: development, fit, culture, and recruiting strategy.
That foundation was formed early at Brown University, where she worked in player personnel and recruiting while competing as a student-athlete. Inside those recruiting operations rooms, she learned how elite organizations are truly built—through relentless evaluation, relationship building, projection, and trust in the board. Those experiences shaped the way she studies the game today: part scout, part storyteller, part architect.
Her analysis and reporting have appeared across major platforms including ESPN, NFL coverage spaces, USA Today Sports, and Saturday Down South. She also brought her personnel-minded approach to the airwaves as an on-air analyst for the Wake Up 502 College Football Show on Big X Sports Radio 96.1, where she became known for combining film-room detail with a wider understanding of roster identity and program trajectory.
In 2025, covering the rise of Houston Cougars football under Willie Fritz reignited the part of the sport that first drew her into football—the culture, the edge, the belief that a roster can reshape an entire city. That inspiration led to the launch of Coogs 365 Sports, a platform built to cover Houston athletics through a true scouting and recruiting lens while connecting the emotion of the game to the heartbeat of H-Town.
Now, Herring-Olvedo returns to The Rebel Walk where with an even deeper perspective shaped by years inside recruiting circles, national SEC coverage, and hands-on evaluation experience. Her return brings a familiar voice back to Ole Miss coverage—but with an evolved lens rooted in roster architecture, player development, and the modern realities of building championship-caliber football in the NIL and portal era.
For Herring-Olvedo, recruiting has never been about stars beside a name. It is about identifying competitors, projecting growth, and building a locker room capable of sustaining success. Her philosophy mirrors the best front offices in football: stack traits, trust culture, and never stop building.
