SEC Football: Why Ole Miss Fans Shouldn't Get Excited About Nkemdiche's Visit
While the college football world was paying attention to the start of Media Days season and the Penn State scandal, Robert Nkemdiche—the nation's No. 1 overall recruit in the Class of 2013—was making waves on the recruiting trail.
In early June, Nkemdiche committed to play football at Clemson, spurning LSU, Alabama, Ole Miss, Georgia and Mississippi State in the process.
But Nkemdiche's recruitment didn't stop then.
In mid-July, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported that Nkemdiche gave Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney an ultimatum that his commitment would be firm if the Tigers offered his friend Ryan Carter a scholarship. Nkemdiche later clarified that statement to the New York Times that it was more a matter of it being "icing on the cake" than an ultimatum.
Semantics aside, it still left the door a little more open than it was before.
Nkemdiche's brother, Denzel, is a defensive back for Ole Miss and hosted Robert this weekend on an unofficial visit.
And then, this happened.
"Straight like that ... Ha ha. #brotherlylove http://instagr.am/p/NZQT4hoQVQ/
— Denzel Nkemdiche (@denzelnkemdiche) July 22, 2012"
Should Ole Miss fans be excited about this, especially considering that TigerNet.com reported that Carter hasn't been offered a scholarship by Clemson?
Nope, and the younger Nkemdiche tried to calm that speculation on Twitter.
"I went to visit my bro so all those media trying make a big story about my visit please calm down .
— robert nkemdiche (@Robertusmagna_1) July 22, 2012"
Nkemdiche's "ultimatum" got blown way out of proportion, and while I'm sure that Nkemdiche would like to play with his friends, I didn't get the impression that he's the kind of player who would issue a mandate.
He's absolutely right to let the Ole Miss coaches sell him, even though he's committed to Clemson. It's a dicey situation with his brother being a Rebel, so being upfront with the Ole Miss coaches so they aren't going through his brother throughout the season is the responsible thing to do.
There's still plenty of time for Nkemdiche to flip, but nothing I've heard—ultimatums included—suggests that his commitment to Clemson is in jeopardy.
Let's hold off on the speculation until there's something to speculate about.
