Meador planning final three visits

Since the dismissal of head coach Houston Nutt in the fall, Ole Miss has been trying to hang onto the commitment of four-star Whiteland (Ind.) Community offensive tackle Jake Meador, and it appears they will get the last shot to impress him.

The 6-6, 280-pound Meador took official visits to Missouri and SMU in the month of December. He has three more officials available to him and a good idea where and when those will be taken.

"I've got Indiana next weekend (Jan. 13)," Meador reported. "Then I am going to probably make that Florida visit sometime during the week after the Indiana visit and then visit Ole Miss sometime during that week or two before Signing Day."

Indiana immediately reasserted themselves in Meador's recruitment in the wake of Nutt's dismissal. They were strongly considered by the four-star prospect before his Ole Miss commitment, and this weekend's trip will allow him to give the in-state program another look.

"I'm going to refresh my memory and see the campus a little bit more," Meador said. "I just met Coach [Seth] Littrell, the defensive coordinator there who came from Arizona. I talked to him on Saturday, so I'll get to talk to him a little bit more."

Heading into the final three weeks of the recruiting process, Meador has focused his attention on four schools: Ole Miss, Indiana, Florida and Missouri.

An Ole Miss commitment since June, Meador said his excitement about the Rebels is starting to rebound now that the coaching transition is complete in Oxford. Hugh Freeze was hired to succeed Houston Nutt at Ole Miss last month, and Meador has had frequent communication with the Rebels new head man and members of his staff over the last few weeks.

"Coach [Matt] Luke, the offensive line coach, actually came in for an in-home visit yesterday and it went real well," Meador reported. "I had talked to him on the phone, but that was the first time meeting him face-to-face. I feel like he is an Ole Miss guy through and through because he played there and he wants to make them into the best."

Meador also had his first head coach in-home visit of the month last week when Missouri's Gary Pinkel stopped by on Friday along with assistant coach Bruce Walker. The Tiger coaches wanted to reinforce his official visit experience, and Meador asked whether Pinkel had long term plans to stay in Columbia, to which the head coach responded he had already turned down several "big jobs."

Ole Miss is scheduled to have the final official visit of Meador's recruitment before National Signing Day. Whether the Rebels can hold onto his commitment, or will lose him to another program remains to be seen.