The Ole Miss football team picked up the top JUCO transfer in the country this offseason as wide receiver Deion Smith committed to the Rebels back in December. Smith has been patiently waiting to join his new team, but the transition hasn't been that smooth. Smith and the Rebels have been waiting for the Ole Miss compliance staff to clear him, and now that has finally happened. Smith will be able to practice on Tuesday.
“Deion Smith, a wide receiver ranked as the nation’s No. 1 junior college football prospect in the 247Sports Composite, is expected to join Ole Miss for practice Tuesday, a source with knowledge of Smith’s transfer told The Athletic,” A report from The Athletic said.
This is huge for the Ole Miss football team and Deion Smith. Obviously, you want your new players to get acclimated to the program as soon as possible, and that typically happens during spring football for someone that commits in December. However, Smith didn't have that luxury.
Ole Miss starts their season in less than three weeks, so this certainly isn't an ideal timeline that Smith is on. He has a couple short weeks of practice before the Rebels open the season at home on August 31st against Furman. Having more than two and a half weeks to practice with a new football team would certainly be nice for Smith, but better late than never, right?
This took a long time to happen, but this is still big for Ole Miss. The Rebels have high expectations for this season as they have a lot of talented players, and Smith being cleared adds another exceptional talent to the mix. Now, the Rebels will have all the pieces present for their final weeks of preparation for the season, and Smith can get acclimated to practicing with his new teammates and coaches.
A look at Deion Smith's career
Deion Smith is a JUCO transfer, but playing for Ole Miss football won't be his first experience in the SEC. Smith actually started his college football career with LSU, so he is familiar with the level of play he will see while playing at the highest level of college football with the Rebels.
Smith started his career in 2021 and he played one season with LSU. He finished that year with 11 receptions for 186 yards and two touchdowns. Smith had 135 of those yards and one touchdown in his second college game against Central Michigan. The hype was loud after that, but Smith ended up having some academic issues, and he transferred to Holmes Community College.
Deion Smith was an absolute force at Holmes Community College during the 2023 season. He finished the year with 48 receptions for 1,063 yards and 12 touchdowns. Smith was seemingly unstoppable, and now he is making the move back to major division one college football where he belongs.
The potential for Smith is through the roof, and he is one of many dangerous WRs that this Ole Miss football team has. It's going to be exciting to see Smith make a return to the SEC, and he has the talent to do big things with the Rebels this year.
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