A sudden crootin surge—capped by the pilfering of Starkville native Willie Gay—provides hope that the NCAA's looming decision isn't having a significantly negative effect on Hugh Freeze's current class.
As we wait for the plodding, seemingly boundless investigation in Oxford to reach its resolution (which won't be until October at the very earliest), the biggest short-term question is how the NCAA's Sword of Damocles will impact Ole Miss' 2017 recruiting class. Though highly unlikely, the mere threat of a postseason ban becomes a damaging weapon in the hands of opposing staffs, a disadvantage which will test the Freeze regime's crootin prowess in a way it hasn't been tested before.