With National Signing Day quickly approaching, Ole Miss head coach Hugh Freeze is on track to having arguably one of the best recruiting classes in the history of the program. Freeze spoke with the media Tuesday during halftime of the men’s basketball game against Kentucky.
Alex Edward | The Daily Mississppian
Football head coach Hugh Freeze talks about recruiting at halftime of the basketball game against Kentucky
After leading Ole Miss to a 7-6 record this past season, including a win in the BBVA Compass Bowl, Freeze said recruiting has been easier after establishing a body of work.
“I don’t think we would be sitting here talking about the class we’re hoping to bring in without the momentum that was created by the end of the season,” Freeze said. “Winning the Egg Bowl and being competitive in the big games against Alabama, LSU, and Texas A&M, then going and winning the bowl game certainly gave some credibility to our message to recruits.”
Ole Miss currently has the 11th ranked recruiting class according to Rivals.com, but could easily jump into the top 10 with many undecided big-name targets on the board. With less than a week to go before signing day (Feb. 6), Freeze believes he and his staff must stay consistent with what they have done so far to help boost the class.
“We’ve got to stay consistent,” he said. “With this conference, there is no one who is bad at recruiting. Everyone is good at it, and it gets a little tougher this week. We’re certainly in on the right guys. We’ve just got to find a way to hopefully close on a good number of them.”
Two prospects that many are keeping their eyes on are the unanimous No. 1-rated overall player Robert Nkemdiche, a defensive end from Loganville, Ga., and Laremy Tunsil, the unanimous No. 1-rated offensive tackle from Lake City, Fla. Both have Ole Miss among their top schools.
Batesville native and South Panola defensive back Antonio Conner, the No. 2-rated safety in the country according to ESPN, has shown high interest in the Rebels.
Freeze has also had some assistance from players who have already committed to the Rebels and believes that commitments recruiting prospects is helpful in the recruiting process.
“I think any time you get kids that have that personality, and you get one that is a really good player and has a great personality that people want to be drawn to it helps,” Freeze said. “It’s no question that I think that is one of the things that has been very successful and got us to this point.
“Some of the kids that came with us early on have really been loyal and stayed strong and continued to help us recruit.”
Ole Miss has one more weekend to host recruits before they make their decisions next week.
According to Scout.com, the Rebels are scheduled to have three players in town or their respective official visits, including four-star offensive tackle Christian Morris, three-star offensive guard Wilson Bell and three-star junior college defensive end Jarran Reed.
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