National Power Plummets out of ESPN's Latest Top 25 Recruiting Rankings

Coming off the most talked about coaching move this offseason, this SEC football powerhouse is slipping out of the recruiting rankings this cycle.

Petre Thomas-Imagn Images

Not long ago, one of the SEC’s up and coming insurgent programs was featured among the most promising recruiting classes in college football this offseason, but that changed when a group of expert analysts revised their latest ranking of the 25 best schools.

Ole Miss was making some solid progress on the recruiting front this offseason as Pete Golding very suddenly took over for Lane Kiffin in college football’s most consequential coaching change, but his Rebels are slipping away from the cream of the crop.

Rebels fall out of the Top 25

Lauren Witte/Clarion Ledger / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

ESPN analysts confirmed that recently when they dropped Ole Miss out of their updated top 25 college football recruiting rankings entirely during the current summer evaluation period.

Conversely, the Rebels’ old coach saw his recruiting fortunes improve, as LSU moved into those rankings as the new No. 17 class in the country in June.

Golding’s quick promotion and continuity among his staff helped stabilize the Ole Miss program in the wake of the Kiffin exit, enough for the school to build what is shaping up to be a second straight top 35 class nationally, but the coaching change did disrupt what could have been a much stronger finish.

As might be expected, the coaching transition from Kiffin to Golding resulted in a few of the Rebels’ former recruiting prospects having a change of heart.

Among those were the four-star tight end JC Anderson, who eventually flipped from Ole Miss to become Kiffin’s first commitment at LSU, followed by another four-star hopeful in wide receiver Corey Barber and three-star wideout Jameson Powell, among others.

Rebels have a strong transfer group

Sergio Estrada-Imagn Images

Whatever bombshells Ole Miss isn’t landing on the recruiting front, they have been making up for when it comes to building a strong transfer class.

The high school class is only part of the offseason story, especially in an era of landmark transfer portal movement, and the Rebels have excelled on that front.

ESPN analysts thought enough of Golding’s effort to rank his transfer class among the top 10 nationally and 247Sports ranked it No. 2 in the country, despite losses like edge rusher Princewill Umanmielen and quarterback Austin Simmons.

Prospects like linebacker Luke Ferrelli, blockers Carius Curne and Tommy Kinsler, and defensive backs Jay Crawford, Sharif Denson, Edwin Joseph, and Joenel Aguero are notable inputs that can help this team return to form this season.

Ole Miss also keeping key contributors

Lauren Witte/Clarion Ledger / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Key retentions should also keep the Rebels in the conversation coming off their first College Football Playoff appearance.

Not least among them are quarterback Trinidad Chambliss after he was granted an injunction to return to college, and Doak Walker Award finalist tailback Kewan Lacy, alongside some interior lineman and defensive contributors.

Chambliss completed over 66 percent of his passes with 3,937 yards while scoring 22 touchdowns with only three interceptions, while Lacy ran for 1,567 yards and scored a school record 24 touchdowns a year ago, as the program ranked third in FBS with 39 total touchdowns on the ground.

Still some good recruiting momentum

Falling out of the top 25 doesn’t mean the Rebels’ recruiting fortunes are a lost cause.

The 2027 high school cycle is still off to a promising start for Golding after commitments from No. 9 national quarterback Keegan Croucher, No. 17 interior offensive lineman Antonio Keefer, and No. 33 wideout Miguel Whitley.

Of the 15 players who committed to Ole Miss in the 2027 cycle, nine are considered blue chip prospects, a solid enough foundation to build something special from.