Assessing Ole Miss' 2016 recruiting class

There is no denying that Ole Miss lost a lot of talent to the NFL Draft. The Rebels could have three players go at high as the first 20 picks.

But Ole Miss had reloaded with one of its best recruiting classes ever. Now, the Rebels are waiting for any impact from Friday’s report of NCAA charges leveled against the football program.

Coach Hugh Freeze and the Rebels have done an excellent job of recruiting over the last year, and as a result, Ole Miss has the fourth-highest rated class in the nation, according to 247 Sports.

The key for Freeze this offseason was landing the No. 1 pro-style quarterback Shea Patterson. He committed nearly a year ago, and after that, it was much easier to convince top recruits to come to Ole Miss.

Shea Patterson’s brother Sean left a quality control position at LSU just days before Shea committed to Ole Miss and soon resurfaced with a recruiting position at Ole Miss,

In addition to getting his quarterback of the future, Freeze also recruited five-star replacements for OT Laremy Tunsil, DT Robert Nkemdiche and WR Laquon Treadwell.

But the NCAA has charged Ole Miss for violating dozens of rules in three sports, including football, according to Pat Forde of Yahoo Sports.

It will be interesting to see if any Ole Miss recruits flip to other schools before signing day to avoid joining a program that could receive NCAA sanctions.

ASSESSING OLE MISS’ 2016 CLASS

Current commits or enrollees: 22 (avg. star 3.72)
Remaining primary targets: DE Jeffery Simmons, S Deontay Anderson, CB Nigel Knott, CB Shyheim Carter
National/SEC rank: 4/2

NOTABLE COMMITS