About this time last year, Hugh Freeze was putting together what the recruiting sites consider to be Ole Miss' best signing class in the modern era. The Rebels' 2016 group finished No. 5 nationally in the 247Sports Composite rankings and its 26 signees averaged 3.7 stars.
Fast forward through Laremy Tunsil's draft-night debacle, a restart on the NCAA's never-ending investigation and a 5-7 season, and Ole Miss recruiting has suffered a serious setback. With about three weeks to go before National Signing Day 2017, this year's class ranks no better than 40th among the major recruiting sites and the average star ranking of its 13 current commits has tumbled to 3.