Ole Miss did not have a great stretch on the recruiting trail in the days leading up to National Signing Day, but after locking down seven four-star recruits including a pair of star wideouts the Rebels managed to salvage a pretty impressive recruiting class.

Take a look at the class as it stands on Wednesday:

  • Damarkus Lodge, WR, four-star, Cedar Hill, Texas
  • Javon Patterson, OG, four-star, Petal, Miss.
  • Van Jefferson, WR, four-star, Brentwood, Tenn.
  • Eric Swinney, RB, four-star, Tyrone, Ga.
  • D.J. Jones, DT, four-star, Scooba, Miss. (East Mississippi Community College)
  • Tony Bridges, CB, four-star, Perkinston, Miss. (Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College)
  • Armani Linton, S, four-star, Walnut, Miss.
  • Willie Hibbler, ATH, three-star, Sardis, Miss.
  • Cameron Ordway, CB, three-star, Pulaski, Tenn.
  • Jason Pellerin, QB, three-star, New Iberia, La.
  • Chad Kelly, QB, three-star, Scooba, Miss. (East Mississippi Community College)
  • Rasool Clemens, DE, three-star, Aiken, S.C.
  • Alex Givens, OT, three-star, Nashville, Tenn.
  • Jalen Julius, CB, three-star, Winter Garden, Fla.
  • Austrian Robinson, DE, three-star, Pawling, N.Y.
  • Michael Howard, OT, three-star, Green Cove Springs, Fla.)
  • Joe Anderson, DE, three-star, Reserve, La.
  • Ross Donnelly, DT, three-star, Cypress, Texas
  • Montrell Custis, CB, three-star, Hampton, Ga.
  • Terry Caldwell, OLB, three-star, Senatobia, Miss. (Northwest Mississippi Community College)
  • Zedrick Woods, OLB, three-star, Lake City, Fla.
  • Shawn Curtis, OLB, three-star, Miami, Fla.

SHORING UP THE SECONDARY

One area Ole Miss needed to address with its 2015 recruiting class was the secondary, which lost All-Americans Senquez Golson and Cody Prewitt to graduation following last season.

It did just that, signing the No. 1 junior college cornerback in the nation in Tony Bridges while also adding four-star safety Armani Linton and three of the top 75 high school cornerbacks in the nation. Not only did Ole Miss add top-level talent to the back-end of its Landshark defense, but it also added depth at the cornerback position to accompany the return of star cornerback Tee Shepard, who missed all of last season with a toe injury.

ADDING EXPLOSIVENESS TO THE RECEIVER CORPS.

When Laquon Treadwell’s sophomore season was cut short due to a broken leg suffered in a loss to Auburn, Ole Miss lacked an explosive playmaker on the outside and suffered as a result, losing two of its three games against FBS opponents without Treadwell by a combined 69 points.

Treadwell won’t just be back for the start of next season, but he’s expected to be back for the start of spring practice next month. However, upon losing Vince Sanders, Ole Miss desperately needed to add more weapons at the receiver position to complement Treadwell and eventually replace him when he leaves for the NFL, which could happen next offseason.

Again, Ole Miss addressed that need by adding a pair of four-star wideouts ranked among the top 11 at the position in this year’s class according to the 247Sports composite rankings.

Damarkus Lodge, the No. 6 receiver in the class, and Van Jefferson, the No. 11 wideout in the class, should both be able to make an immediate impact on an offense in need of their explosive abilities. The Rebels will need big seasons out of both players as they aim to replace three-year starting quarterback Bo Wallace in the passing game.

Speaking of which…

THE CHAD KELLY ERA IS SET TO BEGIN

Kelly has already been in Oxford for a few weeks, and he officially signed his letter of intent on Wednesday. It’s likely he’ll be the Rebels’ starting quarterback at the start of the 2015 season (that’s not a sure thing but it’s close), and at Hugh Freeze’s signing day press conference he took responsibility for Kelly’s play and his behavior during his upcoming two years at Ole Miss.

Kelly, a former Clemson Tiger, was the No. 1 junior college quarterback in the nation after leading East Mississippi Community College to a national championship in 2014. He’s joined in the Rebels’ 2015 class by three-star high school quarterback Jason Pellerin.

OVERCOMING DECOMMITMENTS

The Rebels lost a pair of touted four-star prospects in offensive tackle Drew Richmond and inside linebacker Leo Lewis, both of whom could have filled needs for Ole Miss in 2015.

All-SEC left tackle Laremy Tunsil is returning from a broken leg this fall and is unlikely to stay at Ole Miss past 2015 when he becomes NFL Draft-eligible, and former starting linebackers Serderius Bryant and Deterrian Shackelford both graduated while fellow linebacker Denzel Nkemdiche also returns from a broken leg.

Nevertheless, Ole Miss still signed a pair of offensive tackles and three linebackers to compensate for those losses, and it’s likely they’ll end the day with yet another top 20 recruiting class.