CFF Series - New Landings: Don't Sleep on this JuCo WR
Five players who have found new homes this winter are on VP's watchlist this offseason...
Winter is the time for comfort, for good food and warmth, for the touch of a friendly hand and a talk beside the fire: it is the time for home.
- Edith Sitwell, poet
JuCo WR Deion Smith to Ole Miss
It has been said that every great SEC program has a little bit of Mississippi in them. That’s certainly the case with the LSU Tigers program, which is where Deion Smith originally committed to out of high school. Unfortunately, he struggled to gain traction in Baton Rouge and opted — instead of the typical transfer portal route — to play JuCo ball this season. The 6’4” playmaker out of Mississippi ended up catching 48 passes for a staggering 1063 yards and 12 TDs in only eight games in 2023.
He is formally a very highly rated recruit (high four star according to 247 Sports), so we know it isn’t a question of talent. He actually attempted to transfer to Ole Miss in the summer of 2022, but failed to do so due to academic reasons, forcing him to go the JuCo route. We need not worry about that, however, as he’s already committed to Ole Miss now, so I assume the paper work checks out.
Lane Kiffin’s Ole Miss program has become somewhat of a safe haven for WR transfers, and with Dayton Wade and potentially Tre Harris moving on, Smith will have an opportunity to be one of the three starters this season, which means he could be a very productive player for an Ole Miss squad that returns it’s starting QB from a year ago.
Smith is the #1 player in the JuCo ranks currently, but Ole Miss also brought in another JuCo WR in Marquis Willis. Willis did a lit bit of everything for Coahoma CC, attempting 30 rushes for 132 yards and two scores, completing 36 of 70 pass attempts for 420 yards and no scores, and catching 16 passes for 258 yards and a score. It’ll be interesting to see where he fits into this puzzle also, but I still like Smith to emerge on top. I think he, Aydin Williams (or potentially Juice Wells if he transfers), and Jalen Watkins could round out a dangerous WR corp in 2024.
And, if I haven’t convinced you to add Smith to your shortlist yet, check out this post from his instagram back in October… VOLUME PIG ALERT!!
Indiana QB Brenden Sorsby to Cincinnati
Every year in CFF it feels like there are QBs who come out of nowhere. Sorsby sort of fits that description, as he emerged later in the 2023 season for the Indiana Hoosiers.