Ole Miss has three senior linebackers with starting experience going into the 2014 season, so finding depth to fill the void left by them could be one of the top priorities in the 2015 recruiting class.
Fred Walls (Courtesy Rivals.com)
Josh Smith (Courtesy Rivals.com)
Outside linebacker Keith Lewis has played in every single game for the Rebels in the last three years, 2013 All-SEC second team selection Serdarius Bryant led the team in tackles last year, and two time Chucky Mullins Award recipient Deterrian Shackleford has been an important team leader and produced well on the field, so Ole Miss is looking at some of the top players from the high school and junior college level to restock the linebacking core.
The lone commitment of the 2015 class for Ole Miss is Olive Branch linebacker Fred Walls. Walls picked up his scholarship offer from the Rebels after his sophomore year in high school, and committed in December of 2013. Walls is listed as 6-foot-1, 220 pounds by 247Sports and rated as the No. 21 player in the state of Mississippi by its composite rankings.
One of the highest rated players Ole Miss is after is Brookhaven linebacker Leo Lewis. 247’s composite rating has him as the No. 1 inside linebacker in the country. Those same rankings also put him as the No. 3 overall prospect in Mississippi. Ole Miss is currently at a disadvantage to land the highly touted prospect however, as the Alabama Crimson Tide currently hold his commitment. Lewis’ decision may not be final though, as he continues to take visits to other schools, including multiple visits to Ole Miss and recently attending a camp at Ole Miss as well. To land him, the Rebels would have to beat out a host of schools including his leader Alabama and in-state rival Mississippi State, wich he ranked as his number two school in an interview with Rivals.
Davon Durant (Courtesy Rivals.com)
Leo Lewis (Courtesy Rivals.com)
In addition to recruit the number one inside linebacker in the country, the Rebels are also on the trail of the No. 1 outside linebacker in the country, as according to 247’s composite rankings. Texas linebacker Malik Jefferson holds this honor, as well as being the ninth best player in the country, per the composite rankings. Texas A&M, Ohio State, Stanford and UCLA are in the mix to sign him, according to Rivals, but Ole Miss also has a shot, as a trip to Oxford was the second college visit Jefferson took.
Ole Miss could possibly find quicker relief to the loss of the players mentioned at the beginning of the article by getting Kansas linebacker Davon Durant. Like Jefferson, Durant is also ranked as the number one player at his position and the number nine player in the country by 247’s composite rankings. Only this time, the difference is that Durant is in the juco rankings and is an inside linebacker. The Rebels seem to be in good standing, as the 6-foot-2, 240 pound linebacker told Rivals that the teams recruiting him the hardest are Texas A&M, South Carolina, Georgia, Ole Miss and Arizona State.
Malik Jefferson (Courtesy Rivals.com)
Another highly rated linebacker interested in the Rebels is Josh Smith. From Murfreesboro, Tenn., Smith is ranked as a four star and the number eight inside linebacker in the country by 247’s composite ranking. In an interview with Rivals he said his top five is made up of Vanderbilt, Purdue, Kentucky, Ole Miss and Penn State. Smith also said academics will be a factor in his recruitment, which has helped Purdue’s standing quite a bit. Smith was supposed to visit Oxford recently, but was unable to make the visit because he was attending the Rivals Five Star Challenge camp.
