Ole Miss has named redshirt sophomore Bo Wallace the starting quarterback for Saturday’s season opener against Central Arkansas.

Wallace beat out junior Barry Brunetti for the starting position, although both are expected to play on Saturday, according to the Jackson Clarion-Ledger.

Wallace said earlier this week he will try to stay on the field full time if he wins the starting position.

“I’ve kinda thought about it and if I’m named the starter, I plan on scoring every drive,” Wallace said, according to the Clarion-Ledger. “I think that’s really important, going out there and scoring and not being taken out of the game. If you’re scoring every drive, he’s probably not going to take you out.”

Ole Miss is hoping to receive immediate help in basketball next season from junior college prospects Jason Carter and Marshall Henderson.

Carter, who plays forward at Chipola (Fla.) Junior College, should be able to improve Ole Miss’ outside shooting.

“The thing he does best is shoot the basketball,” Chipola coach Jake Headrick told the Jackson Clarion-Ledger. “He can really shoot the basketball to the 3.”

And Headrick believes Henderson, a guard from South Plains (Texas) Junior College, will make a similar impact on the Rebels.

“They’re probably getting two of the top junior college sophomores in the country in those guys,” Headrick said.

Mississippi State continued its strong recruiting run this week by picking up a commitment from defensive tackle Nick James from Long Beach (Miss.) High School.

The decision from James came sooner than expected.

“I can focus on football more,” James said of his decision to commit now.

But his focus will be on more than football. James’ recruiting process will continue despite his commitment to the Bulldogs.

James told Jackson Clarion-Ledger he still plans to visit other schools this fall. Alabama, LSU and Miami are possibilities, according to the Clarion-Ledger.

“I’m still going to take some visits to make sure, but I’m pretty positive I’ll end up at State,” James said.

James is the 16th prospect to commit to Mississippi State for 2012 and the second player to do so in as many days.

The Bulldogs received a commitment from Memphis, Tenn., athlete Will Redmond on Monday. Mississippi State’s coaching staff made the difference in Redmond’s decision to choose the Bulldogs over Tennessee.

“I got real close with those coaches,” Redmond told ESPN.com. “It wasn’t just the coach that recruited me. It was the staff, including Coach (Dan) Mullen. I bet we spoke at least once a week.”

Ole Miss received good news on Tuesday afternoon when linebacker C.J. Johnson committed to the Rebels.

“I wanted to stay in state, first of all,” Johnson told the Jackson Clarion-Ledger.

Johnson chose Ole Miss over Mississippi State and LSU. Did Johnson, who was once committed to Mississippi State, eliminate the Bulldogs because of Facebook?

It appears that was a factor. Credit Bryan Fischer of CBSSports.com (his story can be found here) for discovering an interesting message from Johnson posted on his Facebook profile wall.

Recruiting continues to evolve, and social networking is very much a part of the process now. Many prospects are active on Facebook, Twitter and other sites. This story goes to show that actions of fans can have a direct impact on the recruitment of a prospect.

Johnson is the 27th commitment for Ole Miss for the class of 2011.