After a long, long, long time spent waiting, the Rebels of Oxford finally had their fates read to them Friday morning. The NCAA dished out a two year bowl ban – along with their self-inflicted 2017 bowl ban – and yearly scholarship implications. This comes after the Hugh Freeze cell phone drama and the legal schadenfreude between the school and former head coach, Houston Nutt, this Summer.
Alongside the bowl bans came another ruling that may inevitably spell death for the Rebels. The NCAA also announced that players would be able to transfer freely without having to sit out a year. Without the one-year penalty for switching schools, the SEC will likely begin to poach their roster. The Rebels’ 2018 recruiting class is currently ranked 72nd in the nation, below the likes of Kansas and Western Kentucky, and this already rough class is going to get worse as kids are sure to drop out of their commitments with the new bans.
Some of the more intriguing players comes from the Rebels’ offense including quarterback, Shea Patterson, and wide receiver, A.J. Brown. Brown, a Starkville native, would compliment the style of Mississippi State’s offense while new Aggies’ head coach, Jimbo Fisher, could be on the search for a star quarterback. So early in the process there are no leads as to who could go where or even if anyone is leaving at all.
With Alabama aiming for a smaller 2018 recruiting class than usual, and the effects of this year’s injuries likely to resonate in the back of Nick Saban’s mind for some time, the Tide may even try and put themselves on some of the Rebels’ short lists. The incoming NFL Draft/Graduation purge of the secondary may have Saban looking to snatch a defensive back or two from Oxford.
Regardless of what happens, shakeups are almost definitely coming to SEC rosters after today.
