The Ole Miss Rebels have gradually built their football program into an annual contender in the hotly contested SEC West, all since Hugh Freeze took over at the helm of the program prior to the 2012 season.

One of the biggest reasons for Ole Miss’ rapid rise in the SEC has been Freeze’s recruiting prowess and his ability to attract better talent to Ole Miss on a yearly basis than ever before. Of course, talent development has played a major role in the Rebels’ recent success as well, but Freeze is giving his staff a greater foundation of talent with which to mold, and the coaching staff has taken advantage, culminating with last year’s nine-win season including victories over 10-win Alabama and Mississippi State.

However, many of the players from Freeze’s first two recruiting hauls are slated to exit the program after this season, putting a greater onus on Freeze’s 2016 recruiting class, which is still in the works. Where should he be looking for talent this recruiting cycle? Where has he already found talent among his 13 commitments?

Take a look at the Rebels’ greatest recruiting needs below, as well as an outlook on the remainder of this recruiting cycle.

DEFENSIVE TACKLE

Losing after 2015: Issac Gross, Robert Nkemdiche (likely)

Gross is a senior who has been productive in the Ole Miss lineup for three years and who will likely be on an NFL roster at this time next year. Nkemdiche is the former No. 1-rated prospect from the 2013 recruiting class, and while he’ll have the option to return for 2016 it’s unlikely he will as he’s been projected to go as high as No. 1 overall in 2016 NFL draft. The Rebels brought in top junior college defensive tackle D.J. Jones from the last recruiting cycle, and they’ve earned a commitment from four-star 2016 defensive tackle Benito Jones, the top-rated player from the state of Mississippi. It’s critical the Rebels maintain that commitment in order to continue building its front seven from the inside-out.

OFFENSIVE TACKLE

Losing after 2015: Fahn Cooper, Laremy Tunsil (likely)

Ole Miss returns its top six offensive linemen for 2016, and it’ll add 2015 four-star guard Javon Patterson this summer. However, the Rebels will lose both their starting offensive tackles following this season when Cooper, the right tackle, graduates and Tunsil, the left tackle, likely enters the NFL draft a year early as another projected top 5 pick. Both the Rebels backups — Robert Conyers and Christian Morris — will be back for 2016, but they don’t bring a wealth of experience to a line that, despite its bevy of veterans, has been very Tunsil-dependent the last two years. Ole Miss has a commitment from only one three-star tackle in this year’s class, and it only signed two three-star tackles out of the 2015 class. Ole Miss must make a home run signing at this position to replenish an offensive line that’ll be tasked with protecting five-star quarterback signee Shea Patterson down the road.

SAFETY

Losing after 2015: Trae Elston, Mike Hilton, Tony Conner (possibly), Chief Brown

Elston, Hilton and Brown are all in their final years of eligibility, and Conner (one of four five-star signees from the 2013 recruiting class) is yet another dynamic talent with first-round potential in next year’s draft and thus a candidate to leave school a year early. If he does, the Rebels will be depleted at safety behind C.J. Hampton and A.J. and C.J. Moore, and even if those three can excel upon breaking into the starting lineup, the lack of depth will wear down the Rebels’ secondary over the course of a grueling SEC schedule. Freeze has traditionally recruited well in the secondary, but he’ll need to add to his lone safety commitment in Ole Miss’ current 2016 class.

Other positions Mizzou should target: ILB, RB, DE

CURRENT RECRUITING CLASS

The Rebels currently have 13 hard commitments in their 2016 recruiting class, seven of which are rated four stars or higher. That collection of incoming talent (should those commitments hold until National Signing Day in February) elevated Ole Miss to the top 5 of the 247Sports industry composite recruiting rankings, where it ranks second among SEC teams.

Patterson, the No. 2 quarterback in the entire class, has the potential to be the SEC’s next dominant signal caller, especially with the receiver talent Freeze and company have attracted in recent years (including two four-star signees this year). Ole Miss has added a four-star receiver, four-star tight end and a pair of four-star tailbacks in its current 2016 class to help build an offense around Patterson for the future, and it’s also done work on the defensive side of the ball, especially along the defensive line where it could add two (or more) top talents.

OUTLOOK

If Freeze can continue his recruiting dominance — namely in Mississippi, Louisiana, Alabama and Tennessee — his Rebels will only continue to build on their win total year after year until they eventually join the nation’s elite. Freeze has brought in three straight top 20 recruiting classes, and this class currently ranks in the top 5 and would be highly unlikely to fall out of the top 15 when signing day arrives in less than nine months.

Freeze must add more talent in the secondary with the remainder of his 2016 class, but his history of attracting defensive back talents like Conner, Tee Shepard and Tony Bridges leads us to believe he can handle the challenge. Beyond that, the goals will to simply be adding talented depth wherever Freeze can find it, and more importantly to maintain the Rebels’ current commitments.

Ole Miss has seven players rated higher than the best player in many other team’s classes, and while four- and five-star prospects are nothing new to the SEC, garnering seven this early in the process puts Freeze in line with the likes of Nick Saban and Mark Richt on the recruiting trail. If he maintains those seven elite commitments, this year’s class could rival the Rebels’ 2013 class, which may produce four first round draft picks next year alone.