Many recruiting analysts predicted longtime Tennessee commitment LeDarrius Cox would flip to SEC rival Auburn on Wednesday.

They were only half-right.

The McGill-Toolen defensive linemen did in fact flip to an SEC school on National Signing Day, but did not choose Auburn. Instead, the 6-foot-5, 312-pound Cox opted for Ole Miss in a ceremony at his school.

“I felt like Ole Miss was the right spot for me to go,” Cox said. “It was a family atmosphere, and somewhere I could play at. I knew what I wanted to do. It just felt like home.”

Cox also had offers from Georgia, Oregon and Central Florida in addition to Tennessee, Auburn and Ole Miss. He visited Oxford on the weekend of Jan. 25-27,

A first-team Class 7A All-State and AL.com Coastal Alabama All-Region selection, he finished 2018 with 42 solo tackles and 14 assists for the Yellow Jackets. He also had eight tackles for loss and five sacks and played in the Alabama-Mississippi All-Star Classic.

“I’m very happy for him, very happy for his family,” McGill-Toolen head coach Earnest Hill said. “I know Darrius will go to Ole Miss and do a great job.

“They’re getting a hard-working kid that has size, going to do what the coaches ask him to do. And he’s a very smart young man.”

Cox was one of three McGill-Toolen players who signed letters of intent Wednesday, as offensive linemen Reece Pitts and Patrick Seibert both signed with Faulkner University of Montgomery. In addition, linebacker Nick Ruggs is headed to South Alabama as a preferred walk-on.