Ole Miss quarterback Matt Corral eliminated any lingering doubt about his football future on Friday night. The star junior published a farewell note ahead of the No. 12 Rebels’ final home game of the season against Vanderbilt. In the message, Corral wrote that the “the love on this team was and is unmatched” while making it clear he intends for this season to be his last as a college player.
Despite being in his fourth season at Ole Miss, Corral could technically play up to two more seasons of college football since he took a redshirt as a freshman in 2018 and last year did not count against his eligibility. But as the No. 10 overall player and No. 1 quarterback in CBS Sports’ 2022 NFL Draft Prospect Rankings, he has little room to improve his professional stock.
Corral has thrown for 17 touchdowns and just 2 interceptions through 10 games and completed 66.6% of his passes for an Ole Miss team that can improve to 9-2 with a win over the Commodores. He’s also accumulated 523 yards rushing and 10 touchdowns on the ground, despite playing through an injury for much of the season’s second half.
Second-year Ole Miss coach Lane Kiffin helped transform Corral from a shaky redshirt freshman in 2019 into one of the SEC’s top quarterbacks in 2020. This season, Corral took another huge step forward by cutting out the interception issues that plagued him at times in 2020. Kiffin responded to Corral’s farewell letter by saying “forever and always like my own!!”
