Ole Miss Recruiting News: Hugh Freeze, Rebels Land Another Five-Star Recruit

Oct 1, 2011; Fresno, CA, USA; General view of a Mississippi Rebels helmet on the field during the game against the Fresno State Bulldogs at Bulldog Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee/Image of Sport-USA TODAY Sports /

The Ole Miss Rebels and head coach Hugh Freeze are making their impact felt in the Southeastern Conference thanks to an incredible recruiting class that has been loaded with some of the nation’s top high school talent. The most recent Ole Miss commit, five-star defensive end Elijah Daniel from Avon High, was the 27th overall rated player in the nation per 247Sports.

Daniel becomes the third five-star recruit to commit to Ole Miss.

“I felt like it was the right place for me,” Daniel said. “I wanted to play in the SEC. I feel they’re on the rise and I see big things for them in the future. I want to be a part of that. I wanted to make the class stronger. I had a connection with the head coach and the rest of the coaching staff. Just everything.”

Daniel was a highly sought after recruit that had offers from Ole Miss, Arizona, Clemson, Florida State, Georgia, Miami, Michigan, Michigan State, Mississippi State, Missouri, Nebraska, Ohio State, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Texas A&M and West Virginia.

He ultimately chose to join forces with the rest of the amazing Ole Miss recruiting class and Coach Freeze. At 6-foot-4, 250-pounds, Daniel has the ability to step in and contribute from day one.

“Obviously he has the physical tools to step in and play immediately,” Avon High head coach Mark Bless said. “His strength, height and weight attributes to him being able to play as a true freshman. Speed and quickness are two of his biggest assets. Coming off the football, that is one of the things we noticed immediately is his take off, off the ball. When he’s in a three-point stance and pops off the ball, that is something that has caught the eye of the college coaches.

“One thing that we noticed is that he tried to improve his knowledge of the game more than anything. Besides his physical stature, this year he tried to improve in the area of football knowledge.”

Despite having a great 2013 recruiting class, Ole Miss is still looking to build on their success. Five-star recruits Tony Conner and the nation’s top rated player Robert Nkemdiche both hold the Rebels very high on their lists. Nkemdiche’s brother, Denzel, is currently the starting linebacker at Ole Miss. The mother of Denzel and Robert hopes to have her sons play together at the collegiate level.

Ole Miss is putting the SEC on notice. If their recruiting class develops to become as good as it appears on paper, they could be atop the SEC ranks in the next few years.