Mississippi DB de-commits, eyes Ole Miss

Batesville (South Panola HS) defensive back David Conner wasted no time in breaking ties with Auburn as soon as he found out that head coach Tommy Tuberville had been dismissed on Wednesday.

"I'm de-committed," Conner said on Wednesday evening after receiving news that Tuberville was no longer the head coach at Auburn.

"I just heard about it a little while ago," Conner said. "I couldn't believe it. He had one year where he messed up and he had to deal with the offensive coordinator being fired and they seemed to just fall apart. To me, it was wrong. I hope he finds another place where he will be happy."

Conner's de-commitment likely puts Ole Miss in the driver's seat for the 5-foot-9, 185 pound safety. He told RebelSports.net on Sunday that he wants to take an official visit to Ole Miss in January and that he has been impressed with the Rebels' play this fall as well as the coaching staff's efforts to recruit him.

Also helping the Rebels cause is that since Conner has been committed to Auburn, not a lot of other schools have pursued the three-star ranked prospect.

Conner committed to Auburn last summer and at the time, Ole Miss had not extended an official offer after observing Conner at the Rebels' senior camp last July.

However, after further evaluation during Conner's senior season at South Panola, the Rebel staff extended the official offer. Since the official offer has been made, Conner has appeared to favor the Rebels even while he remained verbally committed to Auburn.

All of that changed on Wednesday with when Tuberville's 10-year tenure ended at Auburn; however, Conner would not totally discount considering Auburn again if the new staff recruits him.

"I'll continue to look at them if they get another coach that I like," Conner said. "I'll stay updated on who they are going after and who they get and see if they have any interest in me.

For the meantime, Conner wants to take a break from recruiting.

"I just want to be open for a while," Conner said. "I want to enjoy the rest of my football season - we play my final game in the state championship on Friday. I just want to stay free and everyone will know where I'm going on signing day."

Conner said he currently has 93 tackles on the season, up from about 80 last year headed into his final game this weekend.