Ole Miss adds pair of early enrollees
Published 4:21 pm Monday, January 23, 2017
Two more members of Ole Miss’ 2017 recruiting class are already on campus.
Linebacker Breon Dixon and defensive end Ryder Anderson have enrolled early and started classes, the school announced Monday — the first day of the spring semester. The early high school graduates join junior college signees Brenden Williams, Markel Winter, Javien Hamilton and Jordan Ta’amu as members of the class who will go through spring practice.
“Ryder and Breon are extremely talented young men, and we are excited to have them on campus for the spring,” Ole Miss coach Hugh Freeze said. “Ryder is a winner and a gifted pass rusher that brings great length on the edge. Our staff made a strong connection with Breon during the recruiting process, and we hope he can help us address a need area right away.”
Dixon, who played his prep career at Grayson High in Loganville, Georgia, is a four-star prospect, according to 247Sports.com’s composite rankings, and the highest-ranked linebacker signed during the Hugh Freeze era. An Under Armour All-American, the 5-foot-11, 218-pound Dixon had 64 tackles, 12 sacks, more than 20 tackles for loss and two interceptions as a senior.
He joins Williams as linebackers who will be immediately inserted into the mix at a position that had just one player finish with more than 44 tackles last season. Rommel Mageo, who started the final four games at middle linebacker, is out of eligibility while leading tackler DeMarquis Gates will be a senior.
A standout at Katy High in Texas, the 6-6 Anderson is a consensus three-star prospect who played defensive end, outside linebacker and tight end in high school. He’s ranked as the nation’s 85th-best end by ESPN.
Sack leader Marquis Haynes is returning for his senior season, but Anderson could help with Ole Miss’ depth at defensive end with Fadol Brown and John Youngblood gone from the two-deep.