Ole Miss left in suspense before landing 3-star wide receiver

Some high school recruits are straight to the point with their commitments. Others like to leave schools in suspense.

Samari Reed is definitely someone who prefers the latter.

The 3-star wide receiver went live on Instagram to narrow down his list of schools before making a final commitment. After narrowing it down to two schools, the Ole Miss Rebels and West Virginia Mountaineers, Reed decided to log off for a bit.

He waited longer than 10 minutes before announcing that he would be playing for Lane Kiffin and the Rebels.

At 6-foot-2 and 190 pounds, Reed is a 3-star receiver out of Monarch High School in Coconut Creek, Florida. His other finalists before choosing Ole Miss included the Clemson Tigers, Penn State Nittany Lions, and Kentucky Wildcats.

It's easy to see why a wide receiver would choose Ole Miss. Kiffin has created an electric offensive system in Oxford, with the Rebels averaging 35.1 points and 462.1 yards of offense per game.

Despite being a 3-star recruit, Reed is actually the highest-ranked offensive player in the Ole Miss recruiting class for 2025. The Rebels have the 26th class nationally and just the 12th-best 2025 class in the SEC.

However, that's not a concern for Kiffin. The Ole Miss head coach prefers to load up on proven talent via the transfer portal. That's the case again this year, with the offensive depth chart showing 12 incoming players from the transfer portal. Meanwhile, the defensive transfers are highlighted by two proven SEC playmakers in Walter Nolen and Princely Umanmielen.

It's an unconventional strategy compared to previous eras of college football. However, Kiffin is embracing the transfer and NIL era in a big way, and hoping that it can lead to a College Football Playoff berth in 2024.