After a disappointing trip to LSU over the weekend, the hits keep coming for the Ole Miss football program. 4-star linebacker Willie Gay has announced his decommitment from Ole Miss and plans to take visits and reopen his recruitment.
Gay, out of Starkville High, committed to the Rebels this summer but had continued to take visits to other programs. In an interview with the Clarion-Ledger’s Will Sammon, Gay talked about the criteria he’s considering while making his final decision.
“I’m just trying to see what is best for me to one day get drafted,” Gay said. “I think about it every night, and I think about the history teams have at linebacker. I’m always doing my homework on it to be sure that I am making the best decision.”
As another player decommits from the Rebels, this leaves their 2017 class in danger of falling back to the bottom of the SEC, now at #12 according to rivals.com. With four decommitments, and no commitments since early August, the effects of the NCAA investigation may be starting to show through. Gay did not state that as his reasoning for reopening his recruitment process, but Rebel fans can’t help but assume it may be negatively affecting Ole Miss on the recruiting trail.
While national signing day is a long way away, the Rebels have just 11 commits in their 2017 class, tied for the least in the SEC with Vanderbilt. Looking specifically at Gay, his loss to this class is a huge loss for the Rebels, who have struggled on defense this season ranking 107th in the country in total defense.
He has not ruled the Rebels out and said they are “somewhat” in the mix. Gay visited Michigan this past weekend and told the Clarion-Ledger that he “fell in love” and that Michigan is now his top school. However, he has not committed to the Wolverines. With offers from Alabama, Michigan, Florida, Georgia and many others, Gay will be a welcomed addition to any of these programs.
Steven Gagliano is a writer for HottyToddy.com. He can be reached at steven.gagliano@hottytoddy.com.
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