The search for a 2017 quarterback continues; the best recruit in Starkville is still considering a move up north; a three-star defensive end has designs on a visit to Oxford.

One of these days, Hugh Freeze is gonna find himself a 2017 quarterback. He thought he had a lead in Connor Blumrick, but A&M swooped in last week to land the three-star Texas product’s commitment. Freeze immediately extended an offer to three-star Myles Brennan out of Bay St. Louis (ya know, the guy who’s high school coach threw a Twitter fit because Ole Miss wasn’t offering any of his players), but Brennan, at least for now, insists he’s sticking to his LSU commitment.

Which brings us to four-star Cali prospect Jack Sears, the latest quarterback to receive an Ole Miss offer, according to Rivals national recruiting analyst Adam Gorney.

The 6’3, 200-pound Elite 11 finalist certainly looks the part and so does his offer sheet. Sears has Duke, Tennessee, UCLA and Southern Cal high on his list. In his junior season, Sears threw for 2,697 yards, 37 touchdowns and only two interceptions while adding 862 yards and nine touchdowns on the ground. It remains to be seen if the Rebs actually have a shot with him.

The tape:

3-star Starkville LB Willie Gay put the Rebs in his top five.

Hugh Freeze snagged the best player out of Starkville in 2016 and now he’s after the top prospect in 2017. Four months after four-star wideout A.J. Brown signed with Ole Miss, Gay included the Rebs in his recently-released top five.

Gay said not to long ago that Oxford feels like home, and it doesn’t hurt that his girlfriend is heading to Oxford next year.

Hauling him out of Starkville is still a bit of a long shot, but so was A.J. Brown. 

3-star DE Elijah Conliffe wants to visit Ole Miss.

Conliffe, the 17th-ranked strong-side defensive end in the 2017 class, recently told Scout’s Michael Clark that he’s “going to try to make it down [to Oxford] this summer.”

The 6’4, 284-pounder had a bunch of nice things to say about the Rebels during that interview:

What really grabs my attention about them is that they play in the SEC. They’ve also had a a lot of success lately and put some defensive lineman in the NFL. And they offer civil engineering.

I’ve been talking to (defensive line) coach (Chris) Kiffin and he’s really cool. He’s fun to talk to and he seems to be very interested in me.

The big man from Hampton, Va. said he hopes to whittle down his options to a top eight sometime soon and listed Ole Miss, USC, Penn State, Tennessee, Virginia Tech and Miami among the favorites to make the cut. Knoxville is the only SEC town he’s visited so far, though he plans on attending a camp in Tuscaloosa next month.

Here’s his tape:

4-star Malcolm Askew has Ole Miss in his top five.

The Rebs are hoping to continue stocking the receiver position and Askew, who also plays defensive back, might be the next four-star to join the ranks. He recently released a ranked top 10 that listed the Rebs No. 3 behind Auburn and Clemson.

The 5’11, 183-pound star from McAdory High School has the explosiveness to make him a Dexter McCluster-esque talent in the slot but he also possesses the defensive tools to contribute in a Mike Hilton-type role. The Rebs recruit in Alabama regularly but swiping Askew from Alabama or Auburn would be big-time.