Hugh Freeze and Ole Miss Could Face Bigger Blowback Than Laremy Tunsil

Draft night was Hugh Freeze’s night to shine, until it wasn’t. He landed five-star recruits Laremy Tunsil, Robert Nkemdiche, and Laquon Treadwell in 2013. All three were drafted in the first round in 2016. That was a coup unprecedented in Ole Miss Rebels history.

Instead, Nkemdiche’s off-field issues almost sent him tumbling out of the first round. Treadwell fell after committing the grave sin of running a 4.6 40-yard dash. Tunsil’s personal life came roaring to the forefront on live TV, costing him millions.

Worse for Freeze, Tunsil’s second social media leak was screenshots of text messages. If valid, those texts implicate multiple Ole Miss staff members orchestrating direct payment of a football player. That’s a different matter than a mysterious, third-party bag man.

Shady dealings at Ole Miss have been a “wink, wink” rumor since Freeze landed that 2013 recruiting class. Tunsil was suspended for seven games last season for improper benefits. Treadwell had his own social media snafu before signing day. Freeze has been called out by colleagues for impropriety. The program is under an ongoing NCAA investigation.

Freeze seems a bit less defiant.

How this plays out is unclear. The NCAA has bylaws. But, enforcement is scattershot and investigation processes are nebulous and protracted. The organization addresses situations ad hoc with no respect for precedent, when it addresses them at all.

The NCAA isn’t a court of law. That’s good for Ole Miss, Tunsil has no compunction to cooperate with the NCAA. It’s doubtful the NCAA will try to extort him into cooperating, as happened with former Miami players.

That could also be bad for Ole Miss. The NCAA doesn’t have firm standards of logic, propriety, or proof. The NCAA was willing to team up with a convicted fraud artist and felon to zing Miami players for relatively minor crimes. Wading into Tunsil’s rough family situation does not seem too out of character.

Last night was terrible for Tunsil. Fortunately, he will disappear into anonymity on an NFL offensive line. It’s never clear what the NCAA will do. But, this story may just be getting started for Freeze and Ole Miss.