The Ole Miss Rebels have now enjoyed three seasons under the Hugh Freeze regime, and those seasons have been filled with plenty of success and virtually no signs of slowing down.

Freeze took over a program that had struggled through a 2-10 campaign the season prior, including an 0-8 run through the SEC. He tripled that win total in his first year on the job and has only continued to grow the program since that time, culminating with a New Year’s Six bowl berth in 2014 in addition to earning College GameDay’s first ever trip to the Grove.

Let’s take a look at the State of the Union in Oxford, taking into account the first three years of the Freeze era as well as expectations for 2015.

ON-FIELD PERFORMANCE

SEC standing: Top third

Grade: B

Ole Miss has maintained bowl eligibility in each of Freeze’s three years in Oxford, and its win total has risen in each of those years as well. While the Rebels are not alone in being able to claim three straight bowl berths, it’s something that schools like Florida and Auburn have not been able to match despite being seen as two of the conference’s power programs.

Thus, it’s hard to knock Ole Miss’ on-field performance, because, frankly, the Rebels win ballgames. And at the end of the day, that’s what it all comes down to, isn’t it?

Freeze is an offensive-minded coach, and his offenses have remained ranked in the top half of the conference in total offense in each of his three years at the helm of the program. The same can be said for the Ole Miss defense, which led the nation in scoring defense in 2014.

The Rebels have not only won two of the last three Egg Bowls against Mississippi State, but they beat a ranked LSU team in 2013 and took down No. 1 Alabama in 2014, showing they can beat any team on any given Saturday.

RECRUITING

SEC standing: Top half

2015 rank: 17 (7th SEC)

Grade: B+

Freeze has not only coached Ole Miss for three seasons, but he’s led the program through four recruiting cycles, building the team the way he wants to with a better recruiting record than most other schools across the nation in that time.

Sure, the Rebels No. 17 rated class ranks only seventh out of 14 SEC teams in 2015, but it also marks the schools’ third straight top-20 class, and those talents have done wonders in the Rebels rebuilding job. (We’ll discuss the development of those players in a moment.)

Freeze attracted the nation’s top overall prospect, defensive lineman Robert Nkemdiche, to Ole Miss in 2013, the same year he wooed top offensive tackle prospect Laremy Tunsil and top wideout Laquon Treadwell to Oxford as well. His last two classes haven’t been quite to that caliber, but they’ve been pretty darn impressive.

The Rebels showed their first signs of vulnerability with their 2015 class, allowing four-star prospects Leo Lewis and Drew Richmond to slip away at the eleventh hour. Nevertheless, they’ve already earned a commitment from 2016 five-star quarterback prospect Shea Patterson, putting the program back on track as far as recruiting is concerned.

PLAYER DEVELOPMENT

SEC standing: More successes than failures

Grade: B

Ole Miss hasn’t been flawless in player development, but no school ever is. The fact of the matter is, players like Nkemdiche, Tunsil, Treadwell, Tony Conner and others were brought to Ole Miss with lofty expectations upon being asked to play right away. They all ultimately lived up to or exceeded those expectations while directly affecting wins against quality opponents.

Plenty of other five-star linemen like Tunsil are forgotten about shortly after signing day and never heard from again. Tunsil, however, may be the single best offensive lineman returning to college this fall, and he has a bright future in the NFL in front of him as well.

There are examples of brilliant player development regarding less-touted prospects as well. Marquis Haynes went from an undersized three-star defensive end to a man who recorded 7.5 sacks as a freshman in 2014. Evan Engram transformed from a lanky three-star wideout into one of the best tight ends in the conference in only two years. The examples are endless.

Freeze may not be the single best talent-developer in the conference, and his record may not be perfect (guys like four-star tailback Mark Dodson are examples of misses), but he hasn’t just brought in talented prospects. He’s developed them into impactful players on the field in the SEC, and won nine games a year ago as a result.

FACILITIES

SEC standing: Above average by SEC standards

Grade: B

The Manning Center, named after, you guessed it, Ole Miss legend Archie Manning and his wife, Olivia, is the home of some of the SEC’s nicer football facilities in early 2015.

The Rebels boast one of the nicest indoor practice facilities in the conference, and their weight room is certainly nothing to shrug at either. Ole Miss installed a new locker room for its players two years ago, loaded with plenty of Red and Blue and photos featuring past Ole Miss legends enjoying their gridiron glory.

Ole Miss may not boast the same caliber of facilities as a school like Alabama, but who can? Ultimately, the Rebs’ facilities are above average, marking another element of the program Freeze can sell to future stars considering Ole Miss as a final destination.

COACHING

SEC standing: Top third

Grade: B+

It’s amazing to consider that just a decade ago Freeze was coaching at the high school level in the Memphis area (you may or may not know that he was Michael Oher’s actual high school coach, although he’s portrayed under an alias in the film).

In that time Freeze has worked his way through the assistant coaching ranks in college football, and after enjoying just one year as a college head coach at Arkansas State (a 10-win season at that) he was thrust into the SEC. His three consecutive winning seasons show he was ready for the challenge, and with as little experience as he brought with him to Ole Miss that’s nothing short of remarkable.

Freeze’s players love to play for him and are often fond that he’s a man of God, deeply rooted in his religious beliefs. His program has suffered more legal troubles than others throughout the conference, but it’s not exactly the pace-setter in that department either. And Freeze’s proven ability to rehabilitate troubled players is a big reason he’s able to keep his program out of bad situations while also making the most of “red-flag players” other schools might have passed on.

Freeze has earned credibility in a short amount of time and is a winner if there ever was one. At this rate, Ole Miss is going to be a contender in the SEC West year in and year out with him at the helm.