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Lane Kiffin praises Otis Reese, shares the latest on defensive back’s NCAA waiver
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Despite transferring from Georgia to Ole Miss back in January, Otis Reese is still waiting to find out if his waiver to play immediately will be approved by the NCAA.
As if that wait isn’t bad enough, Lane Kiffin said on Tuesday that the junior defensive back may be one of the best players on the roster in Oxford. Imagine trying to get your team ready without knowing if a potential starter will even be eligible to play — in a season where no player will lose a season of eligibility.
Here is what Kiffin had to say about Reese when asked about the defensive back’s status during his most recent media availability.
“We have not heard a final thing on Otis. All of that was turned in a while ago and so we are waiting to hear that,” Kiffin said. “Obviously, there’s a lot of anticipation around that. He’s one of the better players on our entire team, would definitely be a starter for us and significant players. So, obviously, hope that goes well.”
The Ole Miss coach then followed that up by noting just how unfair it would be for any player to be denied the ability to play this season.
“I feel bad for guys that don’t win waivers because to me, they are really getting like double punished,” Kiffin continued. “Everyone else is getting an extra year. So, if you don’t win your waiver, obviously, you can’t play, but you aren’t getting an extra year. So everyone else is getting an extra year but you. That parts really unfair.”
If you missed the news, the NCAA announced that nearly the entire organization would be undergoing furloughs. Could that news affect the waiver process for Reese?
While Kiffin couldn’t answer that question, he did offer up a timeline for when he hopes to see a decision made on Reese.
“I ask for updates from our people all the time so they just said that it’s there and that the last three days (the NCAA) were out on holiday,” Kiffin added. “Hopefully something this week.”
Reese shared this tweet over the weekend:
All I ask is for what is fair, let me play this season with my brothers!!#DoTheRightThing #BLM pic.twitter.com/PmebqHKhc4
— O Dog™.. (@otisreese13) September 6, 2020
Hopefully the NCAA does the right thing and lets him play this fall.
A graduate of the University of Tennessee, Michael Wayne Bratton oversees the news coverage for Saturday Down South. Michael previously worked for FOX Sports and NFL.com
