Ole Miss lands commitment from 5-star QB Shea Patterson

Ole Miss has landed its top target in the class of 2016.

Five-star junior quarterback Shea Patterson announced his decision to commit to Ole Miss on Tuesday over finalists LSU, Southern Cal and more than 30 other offers at Calvary High School in Shreveport, La.

Patterson's rankings on recruiting websites vary, but one thing is for sure: He's elite.

Scout.com ranks the 6-foot-2, 190-pounder as the nation's No. 1 quarterback and the No. 7 overall player in the country. Both Rivals.com and 247Sports.com list him as the No. 3 pro-style quarterback.

But dubbing Patterson "pro-style" could be a tad misleading.

"Shea can do a lot of things to keep the play alive, moving around and playing on the run," Rivals.com national recruiting analyst Mike Farrell told the Shreveport Times on Monday. "Shea sees field better when he's outside the pocket. He's getting bigger and taller. He's gone from barely 6 foot and a legit 6-2 filled out kid."

Patterson gives Ole Miss nine commitments in its 2016 class, which will likely vault to No. 1 in the still-early class rankings according to 247Sports.com. Patterson is also the Rebels' second five-star pledge, joining Oxford wideout D.K. Metcalf.

Patterson is expected to graduate high school in December and enroll early.

Patterson committed to Arizona as a freshman but re-opened his recruitment in the summer before his junior season.

As a junior, Patterson torched defenses for 2,428 yards and paired 38 touchdowns with just three interceptions. He also tallied a 64.8 percent completion rate.

Patterson said throughout his recruitment that having a good relationship with a coaching staff would be the "key" in his decision. He has visited Oxford several times - most recently for the Rebels' junior day at the end of January.

But Patterson's older brother, Sean, provides an interesting wrinkle in his recruitment.

Sean Patterson was hired as a graduate assistant at Arizona after Shea's commitment, then took an offensive quality control coaching position at LSU.

There are rumors that Sean Patterson may be offered some type of offensive job at Ole Miss.

More coming soon.