Report: Former LSU wide receiver Deion Smith to play JUCO after failed Ole Miss transfer

One of the top players to enter the transfer portal this cycle was LSU Tigers wide receiver Deion Smith. After a coaching change in Baton Rouge, Smith decided to look elsewhere to continue his playing days. However, it seems as if he will be stepping down a level for a career restart.

According to Brody Smith of The Athletic, Smith is going to play JUCO football this season. The wide receiver had plans to stay in the SEC and play for the Ole Miss Rebels but due to academic issues, he was not able to complete the move. Smith decided to sit out of spring practice as well.

Exactly which school Smith will play at is not yet known. He is from Jackson, MS and if he had completed his transfer to Ole Miss, would have been playing closer to home. Smith is a former four-star recruit and was ranked the No. 1 player from the state of Mississippi in the 2021 recruiting class, per the On3 Consensus.

Smith made an impact with LSU last season, having 11 catches over five games. He recorded 186 total yards and two touchdowns. Both scores came in nonconference play against Central Michigan.

Ole Miss pursuing Smith is no surprise. Head coach Lane Kiffin mentioned multiple times how frustrated he was with the lack of wide receivers available during spring practice. Especially when going through a quarterback competition, Kiffin was not able to properly evaluate his signal-callers.

“You would like to think with experience, you learn things so you take all of that into account,” Kiffin said in the middle of spring practice. “I think, as a younger coach sometimes you get down because of the stat sheet but getting a quarterback out there that’s going to have great passing efficiency without good players around him. Running guys can take off and run but when it comes to the throwing, you better have some good pieces and just look at Matt’s (Corral) season when he had them when he didn’t. There’s a big difference as good as he was. Those guys are suffering from that.”

Kiffin ended up taking a commitment for Jaylon Robinson, who came via UCF. Whether or not he was the plan once Smith was not able to transfer is not known. However, the Rebels were still on the market for wide receivers as Kiffin looks to reload his high-powered offense from a season ago.