THE POWER OF NKEMDICHE: Not only is
Robert Nkemdiche the nation’s No. 1 overall college prospect, he also may be the most powerful. He sent Ole Miss coach
Hugh Freeze and the team’s fans into widespread panic after he expressed his disappointment over the
Rebels withdrawing the scholarship offer to Thomasville LB
Mario Mathis,
who had been committed for nearly three months. Nkemdiche first tweeted
at Mathis, saying “Keep your head up.” Then Nkemdiche set off fire
alarms across Mississippi when he tweeted “Messed up what [Ole Miss] did
to Mario Mathis.” Quick summary: Mario’s father told the AJC that the
scholarship was revoked by Ole Miss because “they didn’t like progress
of his recovery from knee surgery” after his workout at last Friday’s
summer camp. His father was obviously disappointed, as any parent would
be, and
his comments about Ole Miss were quite respectful if actually you read them.
What set off the fire alarms was Nkemdiche’s reaction, because Ole Miss
is convinced they have a great chance at flipping him from Clemson.
From then on, it was full damage-control mode for Ole Miss for the rest
of the day. Hugh Freeze was kind enough to call the AJC. Nice guy and
enjoyed the conversation, but his staff likely made a rookie mistake by
extending an offer and accepting a commitment from Mathis, even if it
was on the contingency of Mario’s knee recovery. Mathis wasn’t being
that highly recruited, and they put themselves in an awkward position by
accepting a commitment that might later be taken away. Later that
evening, Mario’s mother spoke to the Memphis Commercial-Appeal,
saying, “Ole Miss has never been anything but honest with Mario. He’s
not guaranteed a scholarship anywhere unless he can play on that leg.
You can’t give a scholarship to someone who can’t physically play. It’s
ridiculous to think otherwise.” Kind words by Mario’s mother, who still
holds out hopes that Ole Miss will offer again when Mario is proven
healthy. But we’d be pleasantly shocked if that happened.
According to
247sports, Ole Miss has offered a mind-boggling 281 prospects and has 19
commitments for 2013. They appear to be holding spots for several
high-profile prospects, including Nkemdiche, who would likely bring a
couple of his Grayson teammates along. We also wonder if fire alarms
would go off at Ole Miss if Nkemdiche sounded off on
Christopher Robinson, a DT from Louisiana
who was also “cut” by Ole Miss because of academic concerns last weekend after being committed since April,
according to the Clarion-Ledger.
Robinson’s coach vented on Ole Miss, telling the Shreveport Times,
“(Ole Miss) said they weren’t able to get in touch with the counselor to
see if a plan was in place for Chris to be eligible,” Wilson said. “I
told them,
‘I guess you haven’t been talking to the right people.’” You’ve got to love the drama of recruiting. And it’s only August 1. We’re six months away from signing day.
