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Ole Miss Football Loses Out on Son of Historic Rebels Basketball Player

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Levi Dombro | Last updated Jul 3, 2025 7:20 PM ET

The Ole Miss Rebels football team has put together another strong recruiting class ahead of the 2025 season. 18 of the team's 22 starters from last year either entered the NFL Draft pool or the transfer portal, so plenty of change is expected this fall.

Head coach Lane Kiffin has grown increasingly adept on the high school recruiting scene during his five-year tenure with the Rebels. He has landed three commitments in the class of 2026 just this week, including two four-star players.

However, Kiffin and his staff have not been able to land every recruit that they want. On Thursday, an Ole Miss legacy player committed to another program.

Jayden Curtis, a three-star defensive lineman in the class of 2026, committed to the University of Central Florida over Ole Miss, Minnesota and others on Thursday.

Curtis is the son of Dwayne Curtis, a former center for the Rebels' basketball team. He played three years at Ole Miss from 2005 to 2008, averaging 13.7 points and 8.6 rebounds per contest. He was coached by both Rod Barnes and Andy Kennedy.

He was also named to the 2024 SEC Men's Basketball Legends Class as a result of his All-SEC and All-District honors while playing for the Rebels.

Ole Miss' 2026 class is still shaping up to be quite strong, as they currently have 12 hard commits. Four of these players are four-star recruits, with the other eight earning three stars, according to 247 Sports.

This includes defensive line commits like four-star Landon Barnes and three-star defensive tackle Carmelow Reed.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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