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Blake Baumgartner, ESPN Staff Writer
Ole Miss and coach Lane Kiffin scored a big win Saturday as four-star defensive end Kamarion Franklin became the latest to join the fold by deciding to stay home.
Franklin (No. 27 overall in the 2024 ESPN 300), from Lake Cormorant High School (Mississippi), becomes the highest-ranked recruit in the Rebels’ class.
He’s the third in-state defensive linemen part of the class — joining Pascagoula High School defensive end Jeffery Rush (No. 134 overall), who committed in March, and defensive tackle Kamron Beavers (No. 204 overall), who committed in May out of Bay Springs High School.
“I think I’d fit in pretty good, like with the staff, the players,” Franklin told ESPN. “I got to get around them. I mean, I’m [from] Hardy, Mississippi. So I fit in pretty good with the other Mississippi people.”
He also considered Miami, Tennessee, Auburn and Florida State. Along with taking a pair of unofficial visits to Auburn — one in June and one in July — he took official visits in June to both Miami and Tennessee.
Franklin and Rush are the second- and third-best players from Mississippi in this cycle, according to ESPN’s rankings.
“[There wasn’t] really a lot of stress and pressure to stay in state,” Franklin said. “You know, I did whatever [was] the best situation for me.”
In 10 games, the 6-foot-6, 270-pound Franklin set Lake Cormorant’s single-season school record with 19 sacks to go with 93 tackles and 22 tackles for loss during a stellar junior season.
“It’s nice,” he said. “It’s a stepping stone to what (I hope to do at the next level), It’s a statement saying what I can do. Obviously my 19 sacks [are] a big factor in my play style. So it just says a lot about my pass-rush ability.”
Mississippi finished ninth in the SEC in pass defense (218 YPG) last season while its 33 sacks were behind only Arkansas, Missouri and Alabama inside the conference.
The Rebels have four ESPN 300 prospects in their upcoming class: Franklin, Rush, cornerback Travaris Banks and Beavers. Mississippi’s 2024 class is 27th in ESPN’s latest team rankings.
