Four-star safety Daniel Demery commits to Ole Miss
Dallas (Texas) Parish Episcopal School four-star safety Daniel Demery made his commitment to Ole Miss on Friday afternoon.
The commitment comes on the heels of a run of spring visits for Demery, including one to Ole Miss' Spring Game where the environment in Oxford stood out.
"The hospitality of everyone stood out," Demery said. "The entire environment at Ole Miss was good, just from looking at the spring game and how many fans they had. The community as a whole stood out to me."
The relationships with safeties coach Chris Partridge and defensive line coach/Texas area recruiter Randall Joyner helped sway Demery to the Rebels, but it was a long-standing relationship with the latter that helped secure the pledge.
"They were a school that definitely made me feel very welcomed," he said. "They made me feel like I was a part of their family. I've known Coach Joyner for a long time, he's been with me since I was a little kid. His older brother was my little league football coach. Coach Partridge, ever since I met him he's treated me like family. He's made sure I've always been comfortable and he's been there to give me words of wisdom."
His role in the Ole Miss defense will be fluid as he will help pitch in at multiple positions in the secondary.
"It's kind of like a hybrid role," he said. "The way they do their defense, they can rotate their safeties in just about any position. They feel that I can fit in just about any position in their secondary."
Playing in the SEC was also a big appeal for Demery as he sees it as a big opportunity for NFL development.
"I'm pretty excited," he said. "The SEC is one of the best conferences there is out in college football, so it's pretty exciting for me. Seeing the guys that have come through [Ole Miss] and into the NFL puts a lot of excitement into me."
Lane Kiffin also made an impression on his visit to Oxford and has been big in building an early relationship with Demery.
"I can tell he's a coach that's not only focused on developing as a player, but also as a young man," Demery said. "He has a great relationship with each one of his players outside of football, so that stood out to me."
Demery joins Ole Miss' 2023 class as its third commit and first from the state of Texas.
At 5-foot-11, 188 pounds, Demery is the No. 191 recruit in the country for the class of 2023, according to Rivals. He is the No. 8 safety in the country and the No. 35 recruit in the state of Texas.