Matt Luke has tried to embrace the “Mississippi Made” slogan as a staple of the program during his short tenure as the head coach of Ole Miss Football. After yesterday’s National Signing Day, it seems that slogan is becoming reality.
Ole Miss signed 31 players in the 2019 recruiting cycle, including six on National Signing Day. The other 25 newcomers signed their letters of intent during December’s early signing period.
Of the 31 signees, 19 of them are Mississippi natives.
“I’m really excited about this class,” Luke said. “I thought it was very important with us, for the first time, getting back to 85 scholarships. This is a big class, a deep class. It’s got 31 players in it, and most of it was done in December. But I thought we had a great (National Signing Day).”
Ole Miss finishes the 2019 recruiting cycle with the No. 22 ranked class in the country but just No. 9 in the SEC. The Rebels were able to beat out Mississippi State, Kentucky, Missouri and Vanderbilt while coming in three spots behind South Carolina in the national rankings.
“I have to credit the staff, these relationships (with the recruits) were four years, three years, two years, and I felt (the coaches) did a phenomenal job closing today,” Luke said. “Top to bottom, I feel like this class can be the foundation for getting this program back on track and back where we all want it to go.”
Ole Miss and head coach Matt Luke were able to round out the 2019 class Wednesday with four players listed as being four-star prospects or better, though none was bigger than five-star running back Jerrion Ealy.
Ealy, a two-sport star in football and baseball at Jackson Prep, chose to sign with Ole Miss despite widespread belief that he would be going to Clemson in the days leading up to NSD. He originally committed to Ole Miss in December 2017 but decided to reopen his recruitment and de-committed from Ole Miss on Jan. 8.
“It comes back to relationships, and coach (Derrick) Nix had known him since the ninth grade,” Luke said. “I’m really proud of the way he’s built that relationship. He knows the whole family, and in the end, when Jerrion came back, he felt at home.”
Although he may never play a down for Ole Miss due to his professional baseball prospects, Luke and his staff’s ability to land a commitment from the No. 3 running back in the nation speaks volumes to their recruiting ability. It also shows that the “Mississippi Made” slogan is starting to gain traction.
“I think it’s a hope that (Ealy) is going to play football,” Luke said. “I think he loves football and loves baseball, but I think we all hope he’s going to come in and make an impact in football.”
Along with Ealy, Ole Miss was able to pick up a trio of four-stars before the day was over, with receiver Jonathan Mingo, quarterback John Rhys Plumlee and linebacker Lakia Henry all choosing Ole Miss.
Mingo, a Brandon native who boasts a 6-foot-2-inch frame, is ranked as the No. 12 overall player in Mississippi. Although Mingo waited to sign until NSD, he originally committed to Ole Miss on July 31, 2018. It was thought he might waiver from his commitment, but he proved to be fully committed.
“(Mingo) has been committed for a long time,” Luke said. “There were a lot of questions going back and forth, but he stayed true the whole time and we’re excited we have him.”
Ole Miss secured some depth under center with the addition of quarterback John Rhys Plumlee from Hattiesburg. Plumlee flipped from Georgia, where he had been committed since June 2018, to Ole Miss just two days before signing day. The dual-threat aspect of Plumlee’s game is similar to what Rebel fans have grown accustomed to in recent years watching quarterbacks like Jordan Ta’amu and Chad Kelly.
“John Rhys has all of the intangibles you want in a quarterback,” offensive coordinator Rich Rodriguez said. “He’s athletic, competitive and very talented.”
A huge get for Luke and his staff came on the defensive side of the ball with the signing of Lakia Henry. Henry, a junior college transfer from Dodge City Community College in Kansas, comes to Oxford ranked the No. 1 junior college middle linebacker in the country.
He joins a defense that struggled for much of the 2018 season and joins young linebackers Mohamed Sanogo and Kevontae Ruggs in the linebackers’ room.
“Lakia is an explosive, physical athlete, who really plays downhill,” Ole Miss linebackers coach Jon Sumrall said about Henry. “He has natural instincts for the linebacker position and is a good tackler.”
In addition to Henry, Ole Miss picked up two three-star defensive linemen in Brandon Mack and LeDarrius Cox.
“Going into this second signing period, it was important that we get a pass rusher, a (defensive) tackle and a linebacker,” Luke said. “We were able to hit on all three of those, so I was very pleased with that.”
Luke said this year’s National Signing Day was a good day for the program as a whole — a step in the right direction.
“I have to credit the staff, these relationships (with the recruits) were four years, three years, two years, and I felt (the coaches) did a phenomenal job closing today,” Luke said. “Top to bottom, I feel like this class can be the foundation for getting this program back on track and back where we all want it to go.”
