Detraveon Brown says he was misled by Ole Miss on National Signing Day

Jordan Heck

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Detraveon Brown says he was misled by Ole Miss on National Signing Day image

Detraveon Brown left many confused following his announcement on National Signing Day.

The Northwood High School (Shreveport, La.) receiver, rated as a 3-star recruit by 247Sports Composite, announced Wednesday in front of cameras he'd be playing football at Ole Miss. He even broke down in tears while doing interviews with the media, according to the Shreveport Times.

"I believe in the Lane Kiffin word. He told me I could come, change Ole Miss around and I stuck with his word. They in the SEC and they play on the biggest stage and I just took his word and I fell in love with it when I went out there," he told Shreveport TV station KTBS after appearing to sign with the Rebels.

MORE: The weirdest stories ever from National Signing Day

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But as reporters started asking around, they soon discovered one problem: Brown signed a commitment letter that didn't exist.

It's unclear exactly what happened, but Ole Miss told Shreveport TV station KTAL that the school had not extended a scholarship offer to him, and that the school has no paperwork on the receiver. The Shreveport Times and KTBS confirmed the same thing KTAL's report.

KTBS's report says they became suspicious when Ole Miss did not list Brown among its signees for the day. The school denied further comment, telling KTBS, "We do not have official paperwork with him, so I’m afraid we cannot comment at this time."

From KTAL:

Northwood High has chosen not to speak on the record about Brown’s signing. Two sources have told KTAL/KMSS that Brown did have another Division I scholarship on the table, but that he proceeded with signing a fake letter of commitment to Ole Miss anyway.

The Shreveport Times had a similar report:

It appears Brown, who broke a number of the Falcons’ receiving records during his productive career, not only didn’t actually sign scholarship papers at Ole Miss, he never received an offer from the Rebel coaching staff, according to a source at the school.

Brown, however, claimed on social media on Jan. 15 that Ole Miss offered him a scholarship.

He told 247Sports on Monday — two days before National Signing Day — that Ole Miss pulled its scholarship offer.

"Coach (Derrick) Nix (from Ole Miss) told me today that they flipped a receiver," Brown told 247Sports. "He told me they didn't have anymore room for me. It's a crazy business. I told Coach Nix that I still love Ole Miss. He told me that they just flipped a receiver. It's the way it is in this business. I don't hold any hard feelings."

So in Brown's record of events, he went through with signing his commitment letter, even though Ole Miss pulled its scholarship. In Ole Miss' record of events, the school never offered him a scholarship.

What makes all of this even more confusing is that Brown was a wanted receiver. He reportedly had a Division I scholarship on the table, and 247Sports reported Houston, Kansas and Kentucky among other schools that showed interest.

UPDATE: Brown released a statement Thursday afternoon.

Shortly after releasing this statement it was revealed he'd instead signed to play on at North Texas.

Jordan Heck

Jordan Heck Photo

Jordan Heck is a Social Media Producer at Sporting News. Before working here, he was a Digital Content Producer at The Indianapolis Star. He graduated with a degree from Indiana University.