Lane Kiffin has landed the top recruit of his early Ole Miss tenure.

Demon Clowney, a four-star defensive end and the nation’s No. 135 overall recruit according to 247Sports, has committed to Ole Miss. As first reported by Adam Kramer of Bleacher Report, Clowney (6-foot-4, 225 pounds) ranks out as the nation’s eighth-best weak side defensive end prospect.

Previously an LSU commit, Clowney decommitted from the Tigers on Dec. 18, opening his recruitment thus allowing Kiffin and the new Ole Miss staff their in. He eventually chose Ole Miss over LSU, Clemson, Georgia and Michigan, among others.

If the last name Clowney sounds familiar, it’s because it is. Demon is a cousin of Jadeveon Clowney. Yes, the same Jadeveon Clowney that amassed 23.5 sacks in his sophomore season at the University of South Carolina en route to becoming the No. 1 overall pick. Coming out of high school, Jadeveon was the nation’s No. 1 overall recruit in the class of 2011 at 6-foot-5 and 255 pounds. 247Sports still ranks him as the best high school football recruit ever. This season, playing for the Seattle Seahawks, Jadeveon recorded three sacks and added seven tackles for loss.

Demon comes from that same gene pool. One of six prospects on campus at Ole Miss this past weekend, Clowney will step into a position group that lost quite a bit of talent to graduation. With defensive end Qaadir Shepard and defensive tackles Benito Jones and Josiah Coatney gone, Clowney could realistically see some playing time in the 2020 season for the Rebels as a true freshman.

Kiffin said during his introductions that he wanted to recruit nationally. When making the Kiffin hire, athletic director Keith Carter emphasized the importance of making Ole Miss a national brand. To this point, the top two committed or signed players in the 2020 class are both from outside the state of Mississippi. Clowney is from Maryland. Four-star running back Henry Parrish, whom the Rebels picked up a commitment from on Sunday, is from Florida.

With Clowney’s commitment, the Rebels now have seven hard commits to add to the 12 players who signed their national letters of intent in the early signing window. Four more players, including three who are four-star rated, are currently scheduled to visit Ole Miss over the weekend of Jan. 31. Players are again able to sign national letters of intent when the window opens for a second time on Feb. 5.