Kicker Wars: Ole Miss Swaps Commitments From 5-star Kickers
Ole Miss has found their next kicker, but they seemed to needed to lose one in the process to make it happen.
In the span of 39-minutes late last night, Oxford High School's Jack Tannehill – son of Oxford Mayor Robyn Tannehill and a 5-star rated kicker by Kohl's Kicking – decommitted from the Rebels relatively out of the blue.
Minutes later, that decision seemed to make some more sense, as the Rebels landed another 5-star rated kicker in Caden Costa out of Mandeville, La.
"I am beyond blessed to announce I am committing to OleM is to continue my academic and athletic career on a full scholarship," Costa's statement read on Twitter. "Thank you to Coach Gideon and Coach Kiffin for this incredible opportunity to play in the SEC."
Costa ended up choosing Ole Miss over offers from LSU, Colorado and others. According to Chris Sailer Kicking, a recruiting database for kickers, Costa is the nation's No. 7 ranked kicker recruit and the No. 54 punter. For reference, Tannehill was unranked by Sailer but the nation's No. 37 kicker by Kohl's, a competing service.
Below reads Sailer's full scouting report on Costa:
Caden is a fantastic high school kicking prospect. He is big time athlete with a powerful leg. Caden does a tremendous job on field goal. He hits a pure ball off the ground and has 55+ yard range. His kickoffs are strong. Caden drives the ball 65+ yards with 4.0+ hang time. He is also a capable punter. Caden is a competitor that kicks with great confidence. He has all the tools to take his game to the next level and dominate. I look forward to seeing what the future holds for Caden. He is a fine young man that is always a great pleasure to work with. Caden continues to prove that he is a scholarship pick! Big things ahead. Excellent prospect. OFFER NOW!!! Huge pick up for Ole Miss.
It comes as no surprise to Rebel fans that Ole Miss could use some more consistency on the kicking front. Luke Logan, after a shaky 2019 season where he went 11 of 19 and failed to hit from over 41-yards, may very well earn that role again. But this year he'll have competition.
The Rebels added another 5-star kicker with the 2020 recruiting class, Jackson Academy's Land Gebhart, to compete with Logan.
Clearly, spring up the special teams seems to be a priority.
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