2007 Recruiting - Drake Nevis

We continue the series on 2007 recruits with the 21st installment, this one centered on Drake Nevis, 6'1" 281#, 4-star defensive tackle with a 4.9 second 40 yard dash, and a 28 inch vertical, from John Ehret High School in Marrero, Louisiana.

Drake Nevis originally committed to Ole Miss because he did not get an offer from LSU until late in the process. The 2007 class was an incredible class in Louisiana for defensive linemen, and LSU turned away several excellent linemen in Rolando Melancon and Jason Peters, who went to Tennessee and Georgia Tech simply because they never got offers from LSU, even though they were both very good players. The class was just too deep. Drake Nevis almost fell into that category as well. Fearful that he wouldn't get an offer from LSU, he committed to Ole Miss over offers from Florida, Auburn, Miami, and others.

This was no accident. Ed Orgeron has coaches at Ole Miss with substantial Louisiana ties, like former New Orleans-area coaching hero Frank Wilson. Orgeron has assaulted the gates of Louisiana trying to take recruits from us since his tenure began, and he has signed a high number of Louisiana recruits. He has not, however, ever beaten LSU for a Louisiana kid that LSU wanted. Before LSU was sure it wanted Nevis, he committed to Ole Miss very early in the process. Then he showed his stuff in his senior year, and LSU got in on the action.

Once Drake got an offer from LSU and visited the campus, he jumped on the offer. This occurred shortly after the end of the 2006 regular season but before the bowl games. Since that time, Nevis has shined. There is some chatter among knowledgeable sources that Nevis's performance in drills so far has been a factor in the decision to move Joseph Barksdale from defensive line to offensive tackle. Well, him and Kentravis Aubrey, who has reportedly been turning a lot of heads.

With Barksdale moving to the OL, it is possible that Nevis will find himself as high as the third team this year, which would put him in the game at mop-up time. Otherwise he will redshirt.