Lackluster Recruiting? The Current State of Ole Miss Rebels Football

Have the Rebels failed as of late on the recruiting trail? Here's what Sports Illustrated thinks.

The Ole Miss Rebels are fresh off their first 10-win regular season in program history and a Sugar Bowl appearance. Surely every recruit is beating down the door to get to Oxford, right?

Not so fast.

The Rebels have missed on some key targets as of late in the recruiting department. Lane Kiffin has had quick and fierce success since he got to Ole Miss, but is he preparing another method in getting talent to Oxford?

Here's what John Garcia Jr. had to say:

Ole Miss

Not only are the numbers low at five commits, as some of the state's best (Dante Dowdell to Oregon, John Slaughter to Tennessee) pledged to other programs already, but the top athlete among current commitments could have a change of heart. Suntarine Perkins, an in-state two-way talent with projections to play linebacker or rush the passer in college, has been public about his flirtations with Alabama despite having been committed to Lane Kiffin and company since 2021. Mississippi State has also hosted Perkins on multiple visits.

Ole Miss swung big at quarterback but ultimately fell flat in the pursuit of Arch Manning, Vizzina and Jaden Rashada, though it countered with a nice long-term addition in Tennessee native Marcel Reed. Offensive line and wide receiver recruiting look like the best possibility for the Rebels to build strong positional groupings before all is said and done, but a top-25 group like last cycle could be far-fetched. Of course, Kiffin is the self-proclaimed transfer portal king, so perhaps a shift of strategy to that element of recruiting is already in motion.

For many Ole Miss fans, the mood may likely be an "innocent until proven guilty" mindset when it comes to Kiffin. After all, he's gotten them to a Sugar Bowl.

Still, the recruiting momentum (or lack thereof) is something to watch moving forward.

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