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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Ole Miss hopes to land No. 1 prospect

Charles Odum Associated Press

ATLANTA – Robert Nkemdiche is just about everybody’s number one prospect on national signing day.

<p>Rivals.com, Scout.com, ESPN, CBS Sports and 247Sports all give No. 1 rankings to Nkemdiche, the big defensive end from Grayson High School near Atlanta.

That’s good news for Mississippi. Nkemdiche (kem-DEE-CHEE) is expected to sign with the Rebels early today.

Louisiana State and Florida are believed to be Nkemdiche’s other finalists. Nkemdiche’s last visit was to LSU last weekend. The big edge for Ole Miss is Denzel Nkemdiche, Robert’s older brother who led the Rebels in tackles as a redshirt freshman linebacker last season.

The family connection may be an insurmountable advantage, but the late decision to visit LSU added drama to today’s choice. Nkemdiche’s updates on his final visit provided encouragement to LSU fans.

“LSU pushing man!!!! Getting hard now,” Nkemdiche tweeted.

In another tweet, he said “LSU pulling out da facts!!!”

Nkemdiche made a public commitment to Clemson last year but then changed his mind, de-committing in November as Ole Miss moved to the top.

Grayson coach Mickey Conn said that Nkemdiche has been under tremendous pressure and has “clammed up pretty good” about his plans.

“I think it’s been extremely tough on him,” Conn said. Though there is pressure, Conn said Nkemdiche (6-4, 280) has embraced the process.

“He’s been taking visits since he was in the ninth grade,” Conn said.

Nkemdiche had 18 sacks as a junior to lead Grayson to the 2011 Class AAAAA state championship. He had only five sacks as a senior, thanks to extra attention from offensive lines.