Ole Miss Football: Hugh Freeze, staff continue to recruit well amid NCAA drama

Even in the midst of allegations against the program Hugh Freeze and the rest of the Ole Miss coaching staff are continuing to recruit with the best in college football. 

Ole Miss has a 2017 class that consists of 10 prospects. Many thought with impending penalties from the NCAA notice of allegations and Ole Miss’ response to those allegations, that Ole Miss might slip in recruiting.

Not only has Ole Miss continued to recruit but they continue to get prospects that rival Alabama, LSU, and national teams like Michigan.

Ole Miss head coach Hugh Freeze is showing the Rebels will not back down and will not disappear.

The biggest recruit to date is Willie Gay, rated a four-star linebacker by 247Sports from Starkville high school in Starkville, Mississippi. Much like last year when Ole Miss gained the signature of star wide receiver A.J. Brown, also from Starkville, Ole Miss is showing that it can go into its rivals backyard and successfully recruit their top players.

In the month of June alone, Ole Miss has received commitments from six prospects. Proving that even amidst the unknowns of penalties from the NCAA that recruits are buying into what Freeze and his staff are selling. Even against teams like Alabama, Ole Miss continues to do well; offensive guard Lavonte Epson chose the Rebels over the Tide this month as well.

Freeze has not only garnered commits but he and his staff are also in on many top players including five-star running back Cam Akers out of Clinton, Mississippi who pretty much has an offer from every team in the country. Akers is considered Ole Miss’ top target and would be a huge get considering the circumstances that surround the program at this time.

So just how are Freeze and his Ole Miss staff getting these players? Sure, there probably are people who still assume that Freeze has to be cheating. In reality, Freeze and his staff can just flat-out recruit. Not only do the coaches build relationships with players but they also build relationships with the prospects family members as well.

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Ole Miss is also a desirable destination; Oxford is one of the best college towns in America, the football program competes at a high level in the toughest conference in the country and just had three first round draft picks in the NFL Draft last April. That is a huge thing for recruits to see in believing that a program can get them to the next level of the game.

Talent also likes to join talent. It is not hard for prospects to see that Ole Miss has recruited well and has players the caliber of Shea Patterson on campus. When you have top prospects already on board it makes it easier for others to join them in the hopes of achieving championship dreams.

While most would love to see Ole Miss fall, and I’m sure that opposing coaches are recruiting against Ole Miss heavily by telling recruits that the sanctions coming for Ole Miss are heavy, bowl-ban heavy, the simple truth is that Ole Miss and Hugh Freeze are not going away. They will continue to be relevant, they will continue to recruit well and they will continue to win.

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Will Ole Miss receive sanctions? Yes. Will it include a bowl ban? No. When the smoke of the NCAA finally clears I would expect for top recruits to continue to make their commitments to Ole Miss. Credit to Hugh Freeze, it cannot be an easy time to recruit now, but he and his staff are doing an incredible job.