Rebels make strong impression on Florida LB

Largo, Fla., linebacker Mike Marry got a visit from one of his favorite recruiters Thursday when Ole Miss recruiting coordinator/cornerbacks coach Chris Vaughn showed up at the school to check on one of the Rebels' top defensive targets.

Vaughn's purpose: make sure that Ole Miss gets one of Marry's four remaining official visits.

"Coach Vaughn is always cool," Marry said Thursday night. "He's always up front and it seems like Ole Miss is a good place to be, but I have to see it. We're taking about (setting up an official visit to Oxford), but we haven't made a date yet."

Largo is 7-1 going into tonight's game against Gibbs. Marry has led the way with 65 tackles and a pair of sacks. Rivals.com ranks the 6-foot-3, 205-pound Marry as the nation's No. 30 inside linebacker. However, the three-star prospect said Ole Miss envisions him playing on the edge.

"They said I'd fit in good," Marry said. "They think I could play either one of the outside linebacker positions."

Ole Miss is 5-4 under first-year head coach Houston Nutt, but the Rebels have showed signs of closing strong. Following a nail-biting close loss to then-No. 2 Alabama, Ole Miss won at Arkansas and returned home to defeat Auburn, 17-7. Those wins have given the Rebels some recruiting momentum. However, the second-half run hasn't had an impact on Marry.

"I was already liking them before they won, so it really didn't have an effect on how I felt about them," Marry said.

Marry has already taken an official visit to Iowa State. He said Thursday that he plans to take four more official visits before making a decision. He has offers from a long list of schools, including Connecticut, Duke, North Carolina, South Carolina, Kentucky, Michigan, South Florida, Stanford, Vanderbilt, West Virginia and Central Florida.

"It's just hard to narrow it down," Marry said. "The only other place I know I'm going for sure is Ole Miss."