Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports
Laquon Treadwell (Crete, Il, Crete-Monee) is the No. 1 receiver recruit in the nation, and announced Thursday evening that he will attend Ole Miss.
The 6-3 195-pound Treadwell is the 19th ranked prospect in the ESPN150 and chose the Rebels over Oklahoma State and Oklahoma. Treadwell scored 50 touchdowns during his career at Crete-Monee, making him one one of the more prolific wide receivers in the history of Illinois high schools. His leadership as a captain and performance on the field is one of the main reasons his team went undefeated and won a state championship.
Ole Miss was the place where Treadwell took his first visit after the Thanksgiving weekend, and the player took subsequent trips to Oklahoma, and most recently to Oklahoma State. However, his heart was sold on the upstart Rebels, who are on the upswing under head coach Hugh Freeze who finished his first season with wins over in-state rival Mississippi State and a blowout win in the BBVA Compass Bowl over Pittsburgh to finish 7-6.
Treadwell should see a considerable amount of playing time as a true freshman and will create a nice tandem with Donte Moncrief who is emerging as one of the best wide receivers in college football.
Blessed with the prototypical frame for a wide receiver, Treadwell has an enormous wingspan and strong hands that allow him to catch anything in the vicinity; because of his height and leaping ability, he’s also a nightmare on jump balls. He can also be a downfield threat, as well as work the intermediate routes and generate yards after the catch with his vision and acceleration.
Adding Treadwell to a class that already includes a number of significant offensive commitments led by quarterbacks DeVante Kincade and Ryan Buchanan as well as tailback Mark Dodson Jr. represents the first major domino to fall for Freeze, who could have one of the top recruiting classes after signing day in February.
The reason Freeze could assemble one of the top recruiting classes come signing day is they are rumored to be the prohibitive favorites to land Robert Nkemdiche (Loganville, Ga, Grayson), the top recruit in the nation, who could sway some of the top undecided talent to come to Oxford, Ms.
The decision of Treadwell, who stressed he wanted to be a part of changing the culture at Ole Miss, will surely have fans of Ole Miss yelling “Hotty Toddy” with his commitment – who should be the first of many high-profile prospects to commit to Freeze in the next three weeks.
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Patrick is the host of “The Wake-up Call,” on Sportstownchicago.com airing Wednesday mornings from 8-10. View his show’s website here.
