LISTEN: Deion Smith talented enough to be among best of 10-deep Ole Miss WRs room
Deion Smith is a transfer wide receiver formerly from LSU and Holmes Community College.
He was the No. 1 JUCO prospect in the country last recruiting season and a JUCO All-American. And at long last he’s set to join (read: practice with) the Rebels, according to reporting from Bruce Feldman of ‘The Athletic.’
The 6-foot-3, 203-pound Smith has seemingly been on the verge of landing in Oxford since he left LSU two years ago. Now-fifth-year Ole Miss head coach Lane Kiffin personally recruited him in high school.
Academic hurdles sent Smith to Holmes (Mississippi) Community College for a year. Even more coursework kept him from enrolling at Ole Miss in December and participating in spring practices. He officially reported, and physically stepped foot on campus, at Ole Miss on June 1.
The saga was far from over. He’s finally suiting up nearly two months later.
RELATED: Mr. Smith (Finally) Goes to Ole Miss: LSU transfer wide receiver reportedly set to practice
What is Ole Miss getting? Smith is joining the Rebels in their third week of preseason camp.
Ole Miss opens its title-chase of a 2024-25 season August 31 against Furman. Ben Garrett tries to put things into perspective on ‘Talk of Champions,’ powered by RiverLand Roofing.
“What he did at Holmes, I was very proud of him,” all-time Ole Miss football great Shay Hodge said on a previous edition of the Ole Miss Spirit’s ‘Flagship’ podcast, hosted by Rebel recruiting expert Zach Berry.
Hodge has long mentored Smith.
“Just being able to humble himself and go down a level. One of main things I tried to do was keep his head straight. I think his kids really did it for him. He basically got black-balled out of LSU. He’s a good kid. Deion needs (the Ole Miss structure), and I think Lane Kiffin and Kelvin Bolden and (wide receivers) coach (George) McDonald will give that to him.”
Ole Miss last season was the only team in college football to produce three 700-yard receivers. Two are back in Tre Harris and Jordan Watkins. Harris is the highest-graded returning wideout in the SEC, according to Pro Football Focus. The Rebels won a program-record 11 games and appeared in their second New Year’s Six bowl in three years.
Smith called the Ole Miss WRs room ‘the best in the country’ in an interview with the Ole Miss Spirit earlier this summer. He talked about the challenge defenses will face trying to single-cover a group that’s 10-deep.
Juice Wells, for example, was ranked by On3 as the top transfer wide receiver in the portal. He came over from South Carolina. Harris, Cayden Lee and Ayden Williams are the current first-teamers.
The post LISTEN: Deion Smith talented enough to be among best of 10-deep Ole Miss WRs room appeared first on On3.
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