Wilkins commits, Jones visits again

Posted on Feb 4 2013 - 7:00am by Lacey Russell

Ole Miss picked up another commitment over the weekend when running back Jordan Wilkins made public his decision to join the Rebels next fall. Five-star defensive end Chris Jones, a Mississippi State commit, made two trips to Oxford this past weekend to set up an interesting scene leading up to National Signing Day on Wednesday.

National Signing Day on Wednesday cannot get here soon enough for all the coaches and recruiting reporters who have had to follow every twist and turn over the past few months.

There were plenty of twists and turns over the weekend as Ole Miss added the commitment of running back Jordan Wilkins, which was first reported by 247Sports, and had another visit from five-star defensive end Chris Jones, who is committed to Mississippi State.

According to 247Sports, Wilkins is a four-star prospect.

The 6-foot-1, 212-pounder was previously committed to Auburn before decommiting from the Tigers after an official visit to Ole Miss Jan. 18.

The Rebels also had official visitors in town this weekend, as four-star offensive linemen Christian Morris and Wilson Bell made their way to Oxford, according to Scout.com, but Scout.com’s Yancy Porter reported Friday that Rebel commit Jarran Reed, a junior college defensive tackle, would not be making his official visit to Ole Miss.

Several media outlets reported Sunday that Reed officially decommitted from Ole Miss.

Jones was among the unofficial visitors over the weekend, but it wasn’t a normal weekend trip.

Porter tweeted late Friday night that “5-star DE Chris Jones has arrived at Ole Miss for an unofficial visit.”

On Saturday morning at 8:56 a.m., Porter tweeted, “Chris Jones just left Oxford to go meet with the MSU staff for a previously planned home visit. The drama continues.”

Later in the day, several Mississippi State beat writers reported they saw Jones in Starkville at the Mississippi State-LSU basketball game.

Then, Kipp Adams of ESPN confirmed that Jones was back in Oxford after the trip to Starkville with his family.

Adams also confirmed that Jones and his parents were still in Oxford Sunday morning.

Ole Miss had another defection over the weekend other than Reed.

Long-time running back commitment Peyton Barber took an official visit to Auburn this weekend,  and Barber flipped his commitment from the Rebels to the Tigers Sunday night, according to several media outlets.

The Rebels currently have 22 commitments and could potentially add eight more players to the recruiting class on Wednesday.

For continuing coverage of Ole Miss football, follow @DavidLCollier and @thedm_sports on Twitter.