Commitments coming Ole Miss way

Ole Miss' commitment list could increase from anywhere to three to none this weekend when three prospects take official visits and one other highly recruited prospect takes an unofficial visit.

The Rebels will host Delray Beach (Atlantic HS), Fla. wide receiver Quadarias Mireles, who recently received a three-star rating by Rivals.com, Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College wide receiver Brett Moncrief, also recently rated a three-star prospect, and three-star offensive lineman Terrence Hackney from Hargrave Military Academy.

In addition to those three official visitors, the Rebels are expected to entertain four-star defensive end Wayne Dorsey, Moncrief's teammate at MGCCC, and a prospect the Rebels dearly covet to impact immediately at defensive end where they lose Chucky Mullins Award winner Marcus Tillman and former junior college transfer Emmanuel Stephens along with Greg Hardy.

Dorsey is taking an unofficial visit after having used his official visit last October when he tripped to Oxford for the Alabama game along with teammate safety Damien Jackson, who committed to the Rebels late last month.

Out of those four, Ole Miss would love to land three - Mireles, Hackney and Dorsey - while they might not have room for Moncrief because of reduced numbers this year that will allow the Rebels to sign only 22 prospects due to an Academic Performance Review penalty that stripped three scholarships from this year's signing class.

"Ole Miss is telling me if they don't get one receiver, I'm next on their board," Moncrief said Thursday evening in an interview. "I don't know who that is, but I'm hoping they find a space for me."

Moncrief, a current verbal commitment to Troy, said if the Rebels don't find space for him, he'll stick with his commitment to Troy, a program he called "up and coming."

Moncrief, son of former NBA star Sidney Moncrief , said he has talked with head coach Houston Nutt recently and Nutt told him it's between him "and another prospect" to apparently get one of the Rebels' few remaining spaces.

The Rebel staff is electing to re-sign several grayshirts - signees from them 2009 signing class that agreed to delay enrollment until January and re-sign in February. Those prospects will count against the Rebels' 22 scholarships for the 2010 class. Ole Miss currently has 11 verbal commitments.

The elder Moncrief played basketball at Arkansas with Nutt when Nutt was a dual-sport athlete in Fayetteville in the mid-1970s and while Brett Moncrief knows Nutt well, it will be his first trip to the Ole Miss campus.

"It's going to be a whole new experience for me," Moncrief said. "I'm really looking forward to it. I'm riding up with (Dorsey and his parents) and we plan on being on campus around 2 p.m. I've heard a lot of good things about Ole Miss and I'm anxious to see for myself."

A lot of work has been going on with all four of the prospects behind the scenes in the last two weeks which also points to the Rebels likely making a push for the prospects.

While rumors circulated that Nutt was interested in the Kansas job last Monday, he was in Baltimore on that day, visiting with Dorsey's relatives. He also stopped by Hargrave on Tuesday to visit Hackney, while recruiting coordinator Chris Vaughn has been busy at work in Florida, including visiting with Mireles.

Meanwhile, Moncrief got a look from Ole Miss coaches as he was preparing for the Heart of Texas bowl, which was played last week in Copperas Cove, Texas.

"Ole Miss' offensive coordinator (Kent Austin) came down and was looking at me in practice," Moncrief said. "He told me he likes me and is impressed with my game."

Hackney picked up offers from Georgia and Mississippi State this week, but told RebelSports.net on Tuesday that he's basically ready to commit to Ole Miss, but wants to see the campus first.

Mireles also told RebelSports.net on Monday that he may commit during his visit. The speedy wide receiver, who was clocked at a sub-4.4 40 yard dash at Florida State's camp this summer, actually tried to commit about a month ago, but has sustained an injury and the Rebel staff wanted to check the severity of the injury before accepting his commitment. Mireles said he expects everything to check out and if his visit goes as expected, he'll probably commit.

One interesting commonality among all four of the visitors is that they are all reporting that they are on track to complete academic requirements this month that will permit them to enroll at Ole Miss next month.

If that happens, they would join the grayshirts and provide an influx of seven or eight new athletes for coaches to work with next spring.

Stay tuned to RebelsSports.net as we bring breaking news of any commitments and follow up on the prospect's visits after they leave campus on Sunday.