Hugh Freeze complained about the NCAA’s Signing Day cloud. It just got darker.

Ole Miss announced on Wednesday that it would be self-imposing a bowl ban for its 2017 season, following the NCAA’s nine new allegations, bringing the total list to 21. It’s been a rough month for Rebels head coach Hugh Freeze, whom the NCAA is accusing of having responsibility here even though the violations concerned assistant coaches.

The news comes just a few weeks after the Rebels signed the 30th-ranked class in the nation, the lowest for Ole Miss since 2012, Freeze’s first. On Signing Day, Freeze wasn’t too happy, and he even went so far as to say this:

For more than a year, the Rebels have had to recruit amid doubt about their future, even while telling some recruits that a bowl ban for 2017 was possible. It’s hard to sell players on signing up for uncertain situations. And this week’s NCAA developments will do nothing to establish certainty, with the NCAA still yet to decide whether to add onto Ole Miss’ self-sanctions.

Ole Miss’ new bowl ban is in addition to the self-imposed scholarship sanctions from May 2016, which already had impacts on recruiting:

The program will dock itself 10 football scholarships over the next three seasons (two in 2016, and four each in 2017 and 2018), plus one it’s counting from the 2015 season. It also self-imposes a $159,352 fine, and “involved staff” will undergo “additional rules education” on NCAA policy.

Outside of the limitations on scholarships, Bud Elliot says the cloud hanging over Ole Miss was a factor for 2017:

Ole Miss’ 2017 class was terrible by SEC standards, consisting of 23 signees, just three of whom were rated four-stars. Opposing schools seized on the opportunity to negatively recruit against Ole Miss, citing the NCAA’s still-to-come ruling. It worked.

Without the NCAA cloud of doubt hanging over its head, the Rebels would have been much stronger contenders for in-state players like running back Cam Akers (signed with Florida State) and linebacker Willie Gay (Mississippi State), as well as out-of-state players with connections to the school like tackle Walker Little (Stanford) and linebacker Jacob Phillips (LSU).

And it might get even worse, believe it or not. As Steven Godfrey reported on Thursday morning, the allegations could lead to more sanctions from the NCAA itself and eventually to rivals taking players:

If the Committee agrees with the case against Ole Miss, a two-year bowl ban is a real possibility. The Rebels self-imposed a one-year ban on Wednesday, but the difference of a season is massive; a two-year ban would allow for current scholarship players to transfer without penalty.

Ole Miss would then have to survive being eaten alive by defections in addition to any potential scholarship restrictions the COI hands out.

Rival schools are not wasting time. When contacted by SB Nation Wednesday evening, coaches on two different SEC staffs confirmed their schools will evaluate the Rebels’ roster for potential talent, in case a two-year ban allowed transfers to play immediately.

This is a nightmare scenario for elite programs with deep rosters (USC and Penn State in the last decade), but for Ole Miss it would be something worse. Despite multiple New Year’s bowl appearances, the Rebels never established depth comparable to SEC rivals like LSU or Alabama.

Simply put, they’re more fiscally fragile, operating in one of the nation’s poorest states. And unlike the Trojans or Nittany Lions, the Rebels would have to attempt a rebuild inside college football’s toughest division.

Godfrey also added that as Ole Miss released the new sanctions and NCAA’s allegations, having Ole Miss chancellor Jeffrey Vitter, athletics director Ross Bjork, and Freeze appear together in the video’s release of the allegations was to portray “a unity inside the university,” per one source.

It would appear that Ole Miss as a whole is standing by Freeze, for now. The NCAA’s coach “responsibility” charge is one of the four allegations the school plans to contest.

Freeze himself is no stranger to coming to the defense of those who question his recruiting tactics. Most notably in 2013, following the Rebels’ surprise signing of a top-10 class, he urged those who “knew facts” of violations to contact Ole Miss’ compliance department. If not, he said for them to not “slander these young men or insult their family.” He later said he regretted that tweet.

Here’s what Freeze had to say on Wednesday following the release of the nine new allegations:

From the moment I arrived in December 2011, I have emphasized to all of my staff that our program is founded on certain core values – faith, attitude, mental toughness, integrity and love. Integrity – doing things the right way. I am extremely disappointed to learn that any member of my staff violated any SEC or NCAA rules, and as the head coach, I regret those actions. Any behavior by my staff that is inconsistent with that commitment to do things the right way simply does not reflect the emphasis I personally place on NCAA compliance.

As the record will show, I am constantly communicating to our compliance office, the SEC office, and industry leaders to make sure we are using best practices when it comes to doing things the right way. Contrary to the allegations, I have demonstrated throughout this entire process that I have a strong record of promoting compliance and monitoring my staff, and I look forward to presenting that evidence to the Committee on Infractions.

The floor hasn’t completely fallen out from underneath Freeze, but things could definitely come to that point. As far as the immediate future goes, Ole Miss’ 2018 class currently has zero commits, and it looks like the Rebels could miss out on some top recruits at the moment. The NCAA’s ruling might come down before Signing Day next year, but that’s not a guarantee.