Otis Reese has been waiting a long time for this one.

The Ole Miss defensive back has been waiting several months just to find out whether he would be eligible to play this season for the Rebels after transferring in from Georgia as an undergraduate. Last week, Reese finally received word that the NCAA had granted him a waiver to play in 2020.

In his two seasons at Georgia, Reese saw the field 25 times for Kirby Smart’s program. During that time, he has registered 16 tackles.

Considering the importance of the Egg Bowl inside the Magnolia State and the fact Reese has yet to play for the Rebels, will Ole Miss ease the defensive back into the gameplan?

Don’t expect that to happen as Lane Kiffin suggested Reese would play early and often against Mississippi State.

“I think a lot. Even though he sat out, he still practices all the time. He’s in great shape,” Kiffin said of Reese on Monday. “He’s a great practice player. He was always preparing like he was playing. I would anticipate him playing a lot.”

However, while Reese has been practicing with the Rebels, Kiffin did note the defensive back was moved to the team’s scout team unit while waiting for the NCAA to grant the defensive back his waiver.

“Once (the NCAA) said he had lost whatever it was, we couldn’t afford to use those reps,” Kiffin said. “He’s been down on service team. He actually started this week playing receiver on service to help us there because we were down numbers, until we found out.”

While it took longer than it should have, Reese is set to make his debut very soon for the Rebels.