Ole Miss Hosting Priority Recruits Saturday, Including Top QB, In-State Star Perkins
Two major hurdles in Ole Miss recruiting could potentially be accomplished based on the visitor list expected in Oxford this weekend.
One is retaining the state's top prospect in Suntarine Perkins, who has been courted by several other programs, including Alabama. The other is securing a quarterback in the class of 2023, especially with buzz surrounding a certain legacy recruit fading. Perkins and Nashville (Tenn.) Montgomery Bell Academy quarterback Marcel Reed are to be on campus.
On Saturday in particular, several key class of 2023 prospects are slated to be in town to see the latest version of the Rebel program, which is conducting a spring practice on Saturday as well. Lane Kiffin will have targets on both sides of the ball to pitch in between practice, meetings and such.
Perkins is the headliner on many fronts, as he is considered the top athlete in the state of Mississippi's 2023 class. Also the sole Ole Miss pledge in the class of 2023, Saturday should be his first trip to town since he made an unofficial visit to Alabama with multiple high school coaches of his at Raleigh (Miss.) High School. If there is any peer recruiting to go down Saturday, Perkins will have to be the communicator.
Reed is a co-headliner, at least from a position perspective. One of the most interesting visitors nationally, Reed is a quarterback with droves of SEC and ACC options dating back to his time as an underclassman at MBA. A true dual-threat with size and speed to his name, he could potentially bring that threat to Oxford. Vanderbilt hosted him recently and Arkansas is among those still courting him consistently. As a junior, the dual-threat talent was on display in his scoring 12 touchdowns through the air and 12 more on the ground. Reed picked up the Rebel offer back in April of 2021.
Skill prospects are flocking to Oxford as one would expect, including another Tennessean in Justin Brown. The Blackman High School standout stands 6'2", 185 pounds and recently became a Rebel target, adding the offer in early February. This will be his first trip to Oxford since adding the extension to his growing list. Brown broke out in 2021, hauling in 69 passes for 1,144 yards and 11 touchdowns in just nine games. Other skill names to keep an eye on include Louisiana wide receiver Harvey Broussard, another big pass catcher who could walk away from campus with an offer this weekend. In the secondary, all eyes will be on another Louisianan and Broussard's 7-on-7 teammate in Ryan Robinson. The New Orleans (La.) Edna Karr standout cornerback or safety projection picked up the Rebel offer just last month, coming off of a strong 2021 season as a junior.
The trenches will also be well represented Saturday, with a premiere tackle talent in Logan Reichert and one of the top guard projections in the class in Madden Sanker among those expected. Reichert is a towering 6'7" out of Missouri and stands as another recently with the Rebel offer added to his list. He will see LSU on Sunday. Sanker is an Atlanta-area standout who saw Mississippi State earlier in the week and Michigan State prior to that. A two-time wrestling state champion, many programs are clamoring for the services of Sanker, including in-state national champion Georgia. Ole Miss offered before UGA did, nearly one year ago, for what it's worth. Another offensive lineman worth noting among those expected has already been profiled by TGR in Ethan Fields.
Up front on defense, Zavion Hardy (video above) is a prospect many SEC programs are tracking daily. Florida hosted him of late and created some buzz in the recruitment, but Ole Miss is also among his top schools and gets him back on campus in timely fashion. The big, physical project from Macon (Ga.) Tattnall Square Academy was also just at South Carolina, another program in his top eight, as he completes a Southern visit swing. Auburn offered during the week, so this all-SEC type battle could ware deeper into the offseason.
TGR will have more names to track in the class of 2023 and likely in the underclassmen groups going forward from the weekend and early next week as the fallout from the trips comes to light.
Marcel Reed has long been a Rebel target
Zavion Hardy at the Under Armour Camp
Perkins committed to Ole Miss in November
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