Ole Miss Football: Matt Corral flip proves Rebels aren’t going anywhere

Ole Miss football was written off after sanctions rocked the program this off-season. Then they flipped Matt Corral from Florida.

The coaching carousel has turned the SEC West upside down. Ole Miss, Mississippi State, Texas A&M and Arkansas all have new head coaches. The SEC East saw turnover with Tennessee and Florida both finding new head men for their programs as well. The “winners” of the hiring season are still being debated, but Ole Miss never really cracked that conversation.

There wasn’t any fanfare when Ole Miss hired Matt Luke. The in-house guy was already with the program and did not carry the same prestige or swagger of Jimbo Fisher or Chip Kelly.  Shea Patterson announced his transfer to Michigan, but Luke didn’t fold. Instead he proved Ole Miss belonged in the thick of the SEC race.

In a somewhat shocking recruiting twist, Luke secured the commitment of Matt Corral. The long time Florida commit was rumored to be looking elsewhere after Jim McElwain was let go, but the Rebels didn’t figure to be at the top of the list. Instead they are a week away from inking one of the best quarterback prospects in the nation.

https://twitter.com/corral_matt/status/941522931326230528

247 Sports ranks 2018 prospect Corral as the No. 3 pro-style quarterback in the nation and the No. 8 prospect in the talent rich state of California. Corral picked the Rebels over USC, Alabama, Georgia and just about every other major program in the country.

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Luke has his building block. Corral is not only the prize of the 2018 Ole Miss class, he’s the selling piece that Luke can use to continue to bring top talent to Oxford. Many had already written Ole Miss off. Not so fast. Matt Corral is proof that the Rebels might be down now,  but they’re not going anywhere at all.