Ole Miss moves up one spot in On3 Industry Team Recruiting Rankings

Ole Miss added its highest-rated prospect of the 2025 recruiting cycle on Saturday, and with the commitment, the Rebels moved up one spot to No. 21 in the On3 Industry Team Recruiting Rankings.

Pensacola (Fla.) Escambia four-star safety Ladarian Clardy committed to the Rebels earlier today, choosing Ole Miss over Florida State and Washington.

“Ole Miss is like home away from home,” Clardy told On3. “How the coaching staff recruited me, how they got to know my family, they made it feel like home. That is what me and my family were looking for. Florida State is a great school. I loved Washington too. UCF was up there also. There is something different about Ole Miss. It just felt like home.”

Wes Neighbors, Pete Golding and Lane Kiffin played significant roles in Clardy’s decision.

“The coaches made it feel like family on and off the field. Coach Neighbors and coach Golding made me feel like a priority from the beginning. They have a great plan for me. Coach Kiffin and I have a different type of bond. I never connected with a head coach like I did with coach Kiffin.

“The biggest reason I committed to Ole Miss was the coaching staff. Who they are, how they recruited me and the way they made me feel like family was different.”

Clardy is the nation’s No. 180 overall prospect, No. 16 safety and No. 29 recruit from Florida in the 2025 cycle according to the On3 Industry Ranking — a weighted average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies.

Ole Miss class breakdown

Clardy was the 17th recruit and eighth blue-chip prospect to join the Rebels’ 2025 class.

Hattiesburg (Miss.) Oak Grove four-star defensive lineman Andrew Maddox — younger brother of Ole Miss freshman quarterback AJ Maddox — was previously the top-rated prospect in this Ole Miss class. He is the No. 182 recruit nationally and No. 18 defensive lineman in the class.

Additional four-star commits for the Rebels include running back Shekai Mills-Knight, linebacker Jarcoby Hopson, safety Keon Young, cornerback Maison Dunn, safety Cortez Thomas and wide receiver Dillon Alfred.

Six commits come from the state of Mississippi: Maddox, Hopson, Dunn, Thomas, Alfred and three-star linebacker Bryson Walters.