Ole Miss Football: Mario Mathis' Offer Being Revoked Won't Be First for Rebels

Recruiting season never sleeps, and that's especially true if you have 281 scholarship offers out there.

Ole Miss head coach Hugh Freeze has been on fire on the recruiting trail, raking in 19 commitments so far in the Class of 2013.

One of them won't be linebacker Mario Mathis...at least for now.

The 6'2", 242-pounder from Thomasville (Ga.) High School committed to the Rebels on May 3, but on a recent trip to Ole Miss camp, he was told that he was no longer on the commitment list, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

Mathis played all of last season on a torn ACL but wasn't diagnosed with the injury until after the season. He underwent surgery this winter to repair his knee and was in the midst of rehabbing when he committed to Ole Miss.

The injury was known by Ole Miss before he committed, but according to Mathis' father David Fletcher, the injury was used as the reason why Ole Miss revoked his offer.

"They said it was strictly because of the leg,” Fletcher said. “If he comes back 100 percent, then they said he would be back on the recruiting board."

There are three sides to every story, and we likely won't hear Freeze's version of it thanks to the NCAA's rule against discussing potential student athletes. But while the knee injury may have been used as the reason, it's probably more due to combination of the injury and numbers.

Ole Miss has 281 offers out to prospects and 19 commitments in the Class of 2013 according to 247Sports.com, so this probably won't be first time that Freeze has to scratch someone off of the commitment list.

Mathis' story will get publicity because of the injury, but if this is going to happen, it's better for him to happen now rather than later in the recruiting process.

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