Ohio State pulled one of the bigger recruiting wins of the week, landing four-star offensive lineman Caden Moss and keeping him away from Ole Miss.
Moss, a Jackson, Mississippi, native, is the fifth-best offensive lineman in the 2027 recruiting class. For Ole Miss, this one stings. He would have been a major addition for a program trying to build real momentum on the trail, especially with head coach Pete Golding already making noise in his home state.
The Buckeyes had to hold off a packed field to get him. Ole Miss was in the mix, along with Kentucky, Oregon, and LSU, but Ohio State came out on top.
Moss’s commitment also means Ole Miss misses out on a chance to add another blue-chip piece to what is already a strong 2027 class. The Rebels currently hold commitments from four-star offensive tackle Antonio Berry and four-star interior offensive lineman Antonio Keefer, both of whom announced last month. Had Moss joined them, Ole Miss would have been sitting on 11 four-star commitments in the class.
That matters because Golding’s biggest early test is right there in the recruiting battle: can he keep stacking talent in the SEC? The answer so far has been yes more often than not, even with this setback.
The Rebels are coming off a historic season that ended with a College Football Playoff semifinal appearance, and 2026 is shaping up as a season with plenty of attention around Oxford. A portion of the roster that helped get them there will be back trying to prove the success wasn’t tied to their former head coach.
So while Moss chose Ohio State, the larger picture for Ole Miss still points to a program with high expectations and a recruiting operation that has to keep winning fights like this one if it wants to stay there.
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Ole Miss Facing Early Pressure In Costly Fight For Elite 5-Star RB
The early arms race around David Gabriel Georges says plenty about where elite recruiting is headed, and it also shows how quickly a 2027 running back can become a major financial talking point before he has even reached the college ranks. The highly ranked prospect is already being discussed as one of the most valuable football recruits in the country, with the kind of profile that has made his recruitment a must-watch for programs trying to land a future centerpiece.
Ohio State and Tennessee have emerged as the primary schools in the chase, which leaves Ole Miss in the position of trying to close ground in a race that already feels expensive and crowded. The Rebels have been mentioned among the schools still involved, but the longer this battle goes on, the more it looks like a test of whether they can stay relevant with a player whose market is rising fast and whose next move could reshape the conversation around his class. [Read more 🡒]
Ole Miss May Finally Have The Defense To Change Everything
Pete Goldings arrival has already changed the feel around Ole Miss, and the defense he helped shape in his second year as coordinator showed it in 2024. The Rebels were noticeably sturdier on that side of the ball, with the kind of improvement in scoring defense, total defense and run defense that can alter how a team is built and how it is viewed going into a season.
Now the next step is about keeping that momentum while adding more pieces through the transfer portal. Ole Miss has brought in help at linebacker and in the secondary, and with five starters back, the unit has a chance to offer the balance the program has been chasing. If that holds, the Rebels may have a defense capable of making the rest of the roster look a lot more dangerous. [Read more 🡒]