LOOK: Ole Miss Shows Off Helmet Options in Latest Recruiting Pitch

The Ole Miss Rebels are using their uniform department to appeal to prospects on the recruiting trail.

Oct 16, 2021; Knoxville, Tennessee, USA; Mississippi Rebels helmet on the field before a game between the Tennessee Volunteers and Mississippi Rebels at Neyland Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Bryan Lynn-USA TODAY Sports / Bryan Lynn-USA TODAY Sports

The Ole Miss Rebels have one of the most-recognizable brands in all of college football, and they aren't afraid to use that power in landing some new talent on the recruiting trail.

On Tuesday, Ole Miss football's X (formerly Twitter) account shared a post that simply said "Best helmets in College Football" followed by the recruiting hashtag "#ComeToTheSip." The graphic in the post featured four of the Rebels' lids and was in response to a post from On3 that asked "Who has the BEST helmets in college football?"

Apparently, the Rebels would like to be considered in that race, and it's clear to see why. You can view the post below.

Best helmets in College Football 🔥#ComeToTheSip pic.twitter.com/i9KLccbItc

— Ole Miss Football (@OleMissFB) June 19, 2024

Clockwise, starting from the top left, the Rebels showed off their white "Sugar Bowl," Realtree camouflage, navy and powder blue lids for this exercise. These are all of the "base" helmet colors that Ole Miss has in its arsenal, although the designs themselves can change based on the helmet decals that are employed on a week-to-week basis.

Beginning with this specific iteration of the white helmets, the "Sugar Bowl" lids earned that nickname due to their introduction in the Allstate Sugar Bowl that concluded the 2021 season for the Rebels. That was a game that Ole Miss lost 21-7 to the Baylor Bears after quarterback Matt Corral went down with a leg injury in the first half and was unable to return to the field of play.

The Realtree helmet was introduced to the rotation in 2022, and, as the name suggests, features a white and powder blue camouflage pattern with the Ole Miss script on the side. The Realtree brand was founded by former Ole Miss wide receiver Bill Jordan, so the connection between the school and outfitter runs deep.

The navy helmet design has been in use by the Rebels since the 1995 season, replacing the powder blue look that was on the field from 1983-1994. Although the current world of college sports shies away from "primary" and "alternate" categories in uniforms, this helmet is the longest continually-active look in Ole Miss' current arsenal.

Finally, there's the powder blue helmet in the bottom left of the graphic. As mentioned above, this particular design was introduced in 1983 and was the team's sole helmet until 1994, save for one game in 1989 when the Rebels honored Chucky Mullins with his No. 38 on the sides of the helmets. The powder blue look was revived in 2014 when Ole Miss played host to Memphis, and it has increasingly been used in the helmet rotation ever since.

For the last two seasons, Ole Miss has kept true to its traditional looks while also mixing in some new combinations, so much so that the Rebels have worn at least 12 different uniform combinations in each of the last two seasons. In the 2023 season, Ole Miss pushed that number to 13 different uniform combinations, one for each regular season game and its bowl game against Penn State.

Will that trend continue in 2024? It appears that Ole Miss is certainly leaning into its uniform arsenal to appeal to recruits, and it's unlikely that this emphasis stops any time soon.