Thursday was a big day for Ole Miss football coach Hugh Freeze. Coming off a productive round of golf in the Chick-fil-A Bowl Challenge, Freeze’s good week continued Thursday with two verbal commitments.
One of the most recent verbal commitment for the 2013 football signing class is a former Ole Miss signee. Quadarias Mireles, who goes by “Q,” signed on to play with the Rebels and former head coach Houston Nutt in 2010 but did not meet freshman academic requirements. Mireles, who now plays wide receiver at Hinds Community College, stayed loyal to the Rebels and announced his intention to sign with head coach Hugh Freeze via Twitter Thursday.
The 5-foot-10, 185-pound Mireles is a versatile player who was originally recruited by Nutt to perform similar roles on offense like former standout Dexter McCluster had done in the past. Mireles, who is originally from Delray Beach, Fla., played quarterback and wide receiver primarily in high school but also had success rushing the ball and as a returner.
At Hinds, Mireles led the Eagles with 45 catches for 693 yards and three touchdowns. He also averaged 11 yards per carry and finished with two touchdowns.
Mireles visited Oxford in late April and was offered after his meeting with the coaches. Mireles is expected to be a mid-year enrollee, which means he would graduate from Hinds in December, sign and then start classes at Ole Miss in January.
Mireles was joined as a verbal commitment Thursday by Thomasville, Ga., linebacker Mario Mathis (6-2, 225). Mathis chose the Rebels over offers from South Florida and Mississippi State. South Carolina, Florida and Florida State, Mathis’ favorite school growing up, all showed interest during the recruiting process. Mathis, who suffered a partial tear in his ACL and meniscus in January, is regarded as a strong tackler that is good against the run.
Ole Miss has a total of seven verbal commitments so far for the 2013 class, including two defensive tackles in junior college standout Marquel Combs (6-3, 305) and Shreveport, La., native Christopher Robinson (6-2, 270) and standout safety Antonio Allen (5-11, 194) of Indianapolis. Allen is rated as the 15th-best safety in the nation and is a Top 250 player on Rivals.com’s list.
Other commitments include wide receiver Dannon Cavil (6-5, 205) of San Antonio, running back Eugene Bazley (5-10, 175) of New Orleans and Byhalia offensive lineman Davion Johnson (6-4, 315), who was the first verbal pledge of the 2013 class.
Playoff push
Oxford and Lafayette will be facing two strong offensive teams in Hernando (21-7 overall) and New Albany (25-8), respectively, in the quarterfinals of the MHSAA baseball playoffs. Lafayette starters Luke Stanley and Eli Murphree will have to find a way slow a New Albany offense that is hitting .360 as a team entering the series. Easton Hall is leading the Bulldogs with a blistering .515 average and 43 RBIs. Ben Foster is second on the team with a .479 average, tops on the team with 35 runs scored and has 33 RBIs to his credit. Another top hitter is Mason Maxey, who enters hitting .364 with nine doubles and 21 RBIs.
Hernando does not have individual stats listed on MaxPreps.com, but the Tigers are hitting .301 coming into the series with the Chargers and have several returning players who have faced Oxford. OHS beat Hernando in two games during the 2011 Class 5A playoffs.
Both series are best-of-three with the winners advancing on to the North Half title series. (May 4, 2012, Page 6A)
