INTEL: Let's clear the air on Deion Smith's delayed arrival at Ole Miss
Former LSU wide receiver and junior college All-American Deion Smith has finally arrived in Oxford, Miss., and is expected to participate in Ole Miss fall camp any day now. But, there is still a delay. Have no fear, though, OMSpirit’s Chuck Rounsaville has the latest scoop.
“This delay is not at the feet of Ole Miss in any way. Ole Miss has already approved everything and given Deion a thumbs up. They are just waiting on confirmation from the school where he took the necessary online courses to verify everything on their end is kosher,” Rounsaville said. “When that school says everything was done properly, there is no more red tape to take care of on Ole Miss’ end.
“When that school gives a thumbs up, which Ole Miss expects, he will be cleared immediately, we have been told,” Rounsaville said. “Those blaming Ole Miss compliance or admissions would be mistaken. It’s natural to put that on them, but in this case it’s not an Ole Miss problem.”
Still, the No. 1 JUCO prospect will be suiting up for Ole Miss this fall.
OMSpirit’s Ben Garrett discussed this on Talk of Champions last week.
“The 6-foot-3, 203-pound Smith has seemingly been on the verge of landing in Oxford since he left LSU two years ago,” Garrett said. “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,” Garrett said. “He officially reported, and physically stepped foot on campus, at Ole Miss on June 1.”
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 with his arrival.
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.
