The Tyler Lockhart Saga: Ole Miss Flip at Linebacker Flips Again…Goes Back to State
OXFORD, Miss. — What a 24 hours it has been for Lane Kiffin and the Ole Miss Rebels, inking yet another top recruiting class for 2025. But of course it wouldn’t be National Signing Day without a bit of chaos, right? As the signees rolled in and officially became Rebels, one of those was linebacker Tyler Lockhart, who had been committed to Mississippi State since September.
Pete Golding and the staff had been working on the Lockhart commitment for some time. The 6-foot-3, 200-pound linebacker was on hand to witness the Rebels’ win in the Egg Bowl, and it seemed that all things had aligned. He is ranked as the No. 16 linebacker in his class and the No. 5 player in Mississippi and was scheduled to be an early enrollee.
During his live ceremony at Winona High School yesterday, everyone saw the 4-star linebacker commit and throw up the Landshark, much to his family’s obvious chagrin as they looked on rather unhappily.
— ⭐️Tyler⭐️⭐️Lockhart⭐️ (@_TylerL_12) December 4, 2024
Like many of his fellow signees, Lockhart took to the stage with family on hand and an audience filled with Ole Miss media, family and friends, shocking so many of them when he decided to be an Ole Miss Rebel.
From the looks of things, Lockhart was on board — but it was easy to see not everyone around him was keen on him being a Rebel.
WATCH:
4-star LB Tyler Lockhart, from Winona, MS (High), signs with Ole Miss.
He was previously committed to Mississippi State. #OleMiss | @LoganMediaNet pic.twitter.com/H7yQIOOTXn
— Brad Logan (@BradLoganCOTE) December 4, 2024
But that didn’t stop Lockhart from talking to media to let them know he was locked in with Ole Miss. On the logistics side of things, the Rebels received the paperwork that would also allow them to announce him as a new member of the class of 2025. Merry Flipmas had come again.
But not so fast, my friends. By sundown, the chaos and complication started to come alive. State announced via social media that Lockhart was a Bulldogs’ signee.
So is he a Rebel or Bulldog?
Ole Miss football later deleted Lockhart’s commitment tweet and removed him from the list of signees on the official Ole Miss signing day page.
State has him as a Bulldog.
The best in state come to STATE!
4-star linebacker @_TylerL_12 is a DAWG!#HailState pic.twitter.com/ThbtHmopJn
— Mississippi State Football (@HailStateFB) December 5, 2024
Late last night came the tweet we are all trying to dissect from Lockhart, himself, simply stating: “My bad.”
my bad😂😂
— ⭐️Tyler⭐️⭐️Lockhart⭐️ (@_TylerL_12) December 5, 2024
What a wild way to end the opening of the early signing period. There are plenty of questions that we are working on bringing some clarity to, but it’s clear there is a lot to unpack here. What we can say is for now, Lockhart is listed on State’s website and has been removed from Ole Miss’.
But, Rebels, it’s going to be fine. The behind-the-scenes actions in recruiting are not always shiny, to say the least, and this is just another example of the new age of how recruiting can turn on a dime. The bigger picture is how well Coach Kiffin and staff are doing in the recruiting arena — especially with in-state kids. Kiffin was asked about this in his post-signing-day presser.
“I think there’s a number of factors with that,” Kiffin said, after Ole Miss signed Caleb Cunningham, the No. 1 player in the state and the No. 2 overall wide receiver in the country.
“We’ve been dominant over their time, basically, in Egg Bowls. So, a lot of in-state kids, (when it comes down to it) between us and State, the programs have been extremely different. I’m not taking a shots, win-losses since we’ve been here are dramatically different and very different directions the programs are heading in. They see that, so that knocks out State for the kids.”
Lane Kiffin
So while Ole Miss may not have emerged on signing day with Lockhart in tow, they’ve still got a top-15 nationally-ranked recruiting class and they’re not done yet as a couple of players are announcing today and tomorrow. (Stay tuned for that) Also, keep in mind the transfer portal window opens next week, December 9, and you know the Portal King will take advantage of that.
Hotty Toddy!
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.
