That couldn’t have gone much worse.

It takes some doing to replace a fourth-and-25 conversion that knocked you out of the SEC title game as your worst moment of the year, but Ole Miss did just that Thursday night, turning a night of celebration into a hellish two-hour tour of the seedy side of college football.

Talk about Ole Miss-management. Wow.

The entire episode, every strange and staged moment of it, gave the concept of the Rebels flying high a whole new meaning, no?

Coaches use draft night as the ultimate recruiting tool. Hugh Freeze looked like he’d rather be in Ann Arbor, holding a camp in February, shirtless, than explaining — yet again — how young men make mistakes.

The way it played out was made for TV.

Moments before the draft, incriminating photos appeared on Laremy Tunsil’s official Twitter account. The photos showed Tunsil wearing a mask, allegedly smoking marijuana, smiling afterward. Tunsil quickly deleted the account, then reactivated it and apologized.

Later, he told reporters that the photos were old, that somebody hacked into his account, but that, yes, he made mistakes.

The photos likely cost him millions — as he slid from a potential top 5 pick all the way to No. 13, where the Miami Dolphins grabbed him and quickly proclaimed they landed the best player in the draft.

And they just might have.

The real trouble — for Ole Miss, anyway — came after the initial photos, when Instagram screen shots captured Tunsil asking an Ole Miss athletic official for money so his mother could pay the rent.

First smoke, then fire.

Reporters asked Tunsil whether the posts were real, whether he accepted money from Ole Miss. He balked, but only briefly.

“Those messages?” Tunsil told reporters. “Those were true. Like I said, I made a mistake.”

When a reporter asked for clarification, specifically whether Tunsil accepted money, the well-dressed left tackle replied:

“I have to say yeah,” he said.

Ole Miss. Blind-sided, again, though this time in the most cruel and public way imaginable.

Ole Miss’ football program already is facing 13 NCAA charges, five of which reportedly are tied to Tunsil. That case is a long way from producing a verdict and possible punishment.

Tunsil already was suspended for accepting impermissible benefits.

Rival coaches have been screaming for years about Freeze’s recruiting tactics.

Freeze dared them to find evidence of any wrong-doing in his program.

Thursday night peeled back a layer or two. It might become a game-changer.

Ole Miss officials released a statement Friday saying the school was aware of Thursday night’s wild sequence of events and they “will aggressively investigate and fully cooperate with the NCAA and SEC.”

As the drama Thursday night unfolded, in real time, the conversation quickly turned to who would have done such a thing? Other than Tunsil, of course, who admitted his role in both reveals. No, the question became: Who in his inner circle had built up such hate, such spite, that they seemed hell-bent on destroying his future?

Days before the draft, Tunsil’s stepfather sued him, seeking damages for, among other things — wait for it … defamation of character.

Shortly after the leaked video, Tunsil’s stepfather, Lindsey Miller, claimed no role in Thursday night’s soap opera.

“I don’t know nothing about no video,” Miller told TMZ.com. “I’m not even watching the draft.”

Others couldn’t look away.

Fortunately, only reputations were harmed.

Tunsil’s, unquestionably. Ole Miss’ too.

Tunsil recovered, quickly, admirably, even. He owned up and appeared eager to move on. The NCAA can’t touch him, and the NFL can’t wait to pay him.

His future is secure, fine.

The Rebels? Stay tuned. The show might not be over yet.