Jackson Prep quarterback Ryan Buchanan gave a verbal commitment to Ole Miss coach Hugh Freeze this afternoon.

Rivals.com rates Buchanan as a three-star prospect and also as the No. 24 high school quarterback in the country.

Many verbal commitments come with high hopes and expectations. The commitment of Buchanan carries that hope in a different way, given the Rebels' recent history with signing and developing high school quarterbacks.

Seven of the last eight quarterbacks to start games for Ole Miss have been transfers from either community colleges or Division I programs.

The high school signee during that span, Nathan Stanley, has since transferred to Southeastern Louisiana. Three quarterbacks to start games in 2011 – Barry Brunetti, Zack Stoudt and Randall Mackey – are all transfers.

Brunetti, who played previously at West Virginia, and community college transfer Bo Wallace are competing for the starting job right now.

Signing and developing a high school quarterback is important for Freeze, the Rebels' first-year coach.

Buchanan (6-3, 210) has family ties with Ole Miss and was heavily recruited, holding offers from every SEC school. He gave strong consideration to Florida and Alabama.

Buchanan passed for over 1,500 yards and 15 touchdowns last season.

“I love the new staff. I have a better relationship with them than with the last one, that’s for sure,” Buchanan told The Ole Miss Spirit. “Everybody on the new staff is passionate about their job. This is where they want to be, and they’ve got the vision of where Ole Miss is going to be four to five years from now.”