Elite Mississippi OT Caden Moss Commits to Ohio State

OXFORD, Miss. — Caden Moss, one of Ole Miss’ top targets in the 2027 cycle, announced his commitment to Ohio State on Friday evening. The four-star, Jackson Academy standout made his decision, choosing the Buckeyes over a finalist group that included Ole Miss, Kentucky, LSU, Oregon and Tennessee.

For much of the recruiting process, the Rebels appeared to hold the inside track.

Ole Miss had built a strong relationship with Moss over many months, and recruiting projections consistently favored the Rebels throughout the spring and into the summer. That changed dramatically in the final 24 hours before his announcement when several national recruiting analysts shifted their predictions to Ohio State — a move that ultimately proved accurate.

While Friday’s news is certainly disappointing for Ole Miss, it does not undo the work Pete Golding and his staff have accomplished along the offensive line. The Rebels already hold commitments from four-star linemen Antonio Berry and Antonio Keefer, along with Oxford High School standout Ford Wade, giving offensive line coach John Garrison a strong foundation for the class moving forward.

Keeping one of Mississippi’s top players home had been a major objective throughout the cycle. After investing months into the recruitment, coming up short is difficult — especially when Ole Miss spent much of the process viewed as the team to beat. That said, recruiting rarely ends with a public commitment.

The Early Signing Period is still months away, and today’s landscape has shown repeatedly that commitments can change. Ole Miss is not expected to walk away from Moss’ recruitment, and there is every reason to believe the Rebels will continue building that relationship throughout the fall. Visits to Oxford during the football season would hardly be surprising.

For Ole Miss, this is also part of competing at the highest level.

Programs pursuing College Football Playoff aspirations routinely find themselves battling schools like Ohio State for elite prospects. Sometimes those battles end in celebration. Other times they don’t. The key is continuing to recruit at that level often enough that wins eventually outweigh the losses.

The Rebels missed on a big one Friday, but the 2027 class remains one of the strongest in the country, and the recruiting calendar is far from finished.

Next Up

In fact, Ole Miss learns Saturday if four-star wide receiver Alvin Mosley has made the decision to head to Oxford. Stay tuned for more as our Lee Ann Herring will be live and in-person at the ceremony in Texas!