UCF transfer cornerback Justin Hodges commits to Ole Miss
OXFORD, Miss. — Ole Miss football picked up its second defensive back commitment of the day Thursday as Central Florida transfer cornerback Justin Hodges announced his pledge to the Rebels via Twitter.
Committed !
Thank You God 🙏🏽 pic.twitter.com/gavbTcsThd
— ¹ OF ¹ (@Jhodges_02) May 26, 2023
Earlier in the day, Jadon Canady, a transfer from Tulane, also committed to Ole Miss.
Hodges entered the transfer portal in late April. In his career at UCF, he tallied 78 tackles, two interceptions, 16 pass breakups, and two fumble recoveries.
In 2022, the Fort Lauderdale, Florida native made 40 tackles and had two fumble recoveries, one sack and one interception.
Hodges will have two seasons of eligibility remaining.
As a high school prospect, Hodges was a three-star who played for Western High School (Ft. Lauderdale). He was rated the No. 121 CB in the nation and the No. 226 player in Florida as ranked by the 247Sports Composite.
Hodges chose UCF over offers from: Washington State, Miami, Florida Atlantic, FIU, Georgia Tech, Indiana, Kentucky, Iowa State, Maryland, Louisville, Minnesota, North Carolina State, Rutgers, West Virginia, Syracuse, and South Florida.
Ole Miss reloading the secondary
The Rebels are looking to reload the Ole Miss secondary following the loss of starters Davison Igbinosun (transfer to Ohio State), Miles Battle (transfer to Ohio State), Braxton Myers (transfer to Purdue) and Tysheem Johnson (transfer to Oregon), so the addition of two defensive backs with the experience of Hodges and Canady is much-desired.
Ole Miss now has added six talented defensive backs via the transfer portal, as in addition to Canady and Hodges, they’ve signed: John Saunders (Miami, Ohio), Zamari Walton (Georgia Tech), DeShawn Gaddie (North Texas) and Daijahn Anthony (Liberty).
Moving on up
Ole Miss football is currently ranked No. 6 in the nation in the transfer portal for 2023 by 247Sports before the commitments of Canady and Hodges today.
Stay tuned for more info as it happens, because it’s likely the ‘Portal King’ isn’t done yet!
Lee Ann Herring-Olvedo
Lee Ann is the Director of Recruiting for The Rebel Walk. She is a veteran SEC sports journalist and NFL content writer. She is also the Sr. Editor for MESPORTS digital. Herring-Olvedo is a Brown University graduate who loves good cigars, good games, and a smooth glass of bourbon — not necessarily in that order.
