For the second straight season, Ole Miss will play in a New Year’s Six bowl game. The Rebels followed up last season’s trip to the Peach Bowl with a berth in the Sugar Bowl where they will take on Oklahoma State.

These are successful times for head coach Hugh Freeze and the Rebels, who have climbed to heights not seen in Oxford since the days of Johnny Vaught. Sure, Tommy Tuberville and David Cutcliffe had some success in Oxford and Houston Nutt led Ole Miss to back-to-back Cotton Bowls (that bowl was not a BCS or major type of bowl at the time), but nothing like this.

So how has this program become one of the biggest climbers in college football during the last four seasons? The general answer is quite simple: recruiting. But when you take a deeper look at that specific aspect of the Ole Miss program, it’s more than just signing more highly-rated prospects.

To be successful on paper on the recruiting trail, a college program obviously just needs to sign highly-rated prospects and achieve the highest team ranking possible on a consistent basis over a period of several cycles.

Check that box for Freeze. After a solid first effort (2012 cycle) shortly after being hired (No. 47 nationally, including five-star Channing Ward), he proceeded to roll out the following three highly-ranked classes.

2013: No. 8 nationally, including No. 1 overall Robert Nkemdiche, No. 1 offensive tackle Laremy Tunsil and No. 1 wide receiver Laquon Treadwell

2014: No. 15 nationally, including elite in-state offensive guard Rod Taylor and safety C.J. Hampton

2015: No. 17 nationally, including out-of-state receivers Damarkus Lodge and Van Jefferson, elite offensive lineman Javon Patterson and Kelly.

So there’s the story on paper. But we all know that games are not won and lost based on “paper success” and that much more than simply acquiring raw talent goes into it. Evaluations, player development, in-game coaching, offseason programs like conditioning, it all factors in to on-field success.

One of the ways, however, to translate perceived recruiting success to on-field success is to be resourceful in your recruiting approach and Ole Miss has done just that. Not every school can recruit all-star classes like Alabama, Florida State, Southern California or Ohio State can do on an every-cycle basis, so it’s important to take a resourceful approach beyond the “no-brainer types” (i.e. Robert Nkemdichie and Laquon Treadwell) that you battle the entire country for.

You look at the roster Freeze and staff have assembled and you see just that. Players like tight end Evan Engram and defensive end Marquise Haynes weren’t among the most heavily-recruited in the country. They are great case studies in evaluation and player development. Wide receiver Cody Core wasn’t offered a scholarship until Freeze arrived in Oxford about two months before National Signing Day. Leading rusher Jaylen Walton was a lightly-recruited scat back from Memphis. These three could help every team in the SEC and could start for most and they weren’t prospects that Ole Miss had to go on a recruiting crusade to land.

We all know quarterback is the most important position on the field and while many other programs around the league have struggled at this position (compare the quarterback situation at Ole Miss with say, Florida or Georgia right now), the Rebels have been steady and at times spectacular by being resourceful.

When Freeze arrived in Oxford, he went and signed Bo Wallace out of junior college and he ended up being a three-year starter that started the rise of the program. Last recruiting cycle, when it was looking iffy on having a solution to replace Wallace on campus, Freeze again dipped into the junior college ranks and signed Chad Kelly, a former four-star, bounce back who transferred out of Clemson. Kelly proceeded to throw for 3,740 yards and 27 touchdowns and rushed for another 10 touchdowns in leading Ole Miss to the Sugar Bowl.

You can’t fake it at this position. You have to have a guy that can make plays or you are going to struggle. You may not struggle to a losing record, but having a difference-maker at quarterback is often the difference between the Birmingham Bowl and the Sugar Bowl in the SEC.

With another stellar class coming in (currently No. 5) — including five-star quarterback Shea Patterson and the No. 1 offensive tackle in the country in Greg Little — the chances that the Rebels remain contenders in the future continue to be high.

There are also several prospects currently committed that you can place in the “resourceful” category. It would not surprise at all to see junior college transfers David Luafatasaga (linebacker) and Myles Hartsfield out-play their ranking. Also keep an eye on two steals out of the state of Tennessee — tight end Gabe Angel and defensive lineman Tariqious Tisdale. Indeed the “mix” of no-brainer elite talent with great evaluations appears to be continuing and that bodes well for the Rebels to take the next step.

That next step, of course, is winning the SEC West for the first time in school history. That won’t be easy given the other programs in the division, but it’s reasonable to predict that they will get it done at some point soon.