An Ole Miss player is planning to petition the NCAA for a transfer with immediate eligibility at any school, claiming that he and his family were misled by Hugh Freeze and others regarding the school's NCAA investigation. Deontay Anderson, a four-star prospect coming out of high school, submitted his request for a full transfer release on Sunday night, according to USA Today.
Anderson has retained the services of attorney Tom Mars, who said that both Freeze and athletics director Ross Bjork "misrepresented the status of the school's NCAA infractions case when he signed in February 2016." Earlier this year, Mars filed a lawsuit against Ole Miss on behalf of Houston Nutt that eventually brought revelations about Freeze's personal life to light that led to his dismissal.
"The first thing that comes to mind is Deontay's request to be fully released and any requests that follow by other players is a very predictable outgrowth of all that was revealed in the Houston Nutt litigation," Mars told USA Today. "As everyone knows now, the so-called false narrative that was the basis of Coach Nutt's lawsuit was intended to convince student-athletes and their parents of something that wasn't true so Ole Miss could sign them in the few days remaining before National Signing Day, and I doubt even the most fanatic Ole Miss fans would condone misleading high school students and their parents for the purpose of signing top talent to the football program."
Freeze declined to comment on the USA Today story.
Anderson played in 2016 as a true freshman but sat out this season as a redshirt. If he's not granted a waiver by the NCAA, he would have only two years of eligibility remaining at his next school.
Another wrinkle in this story is the NCAA's final ruling on the Ole Miss case is expected to be released in the coming weeks. It is possible that the NCAA's Committee on Infractions could include a sanction that would allow players to transfer and play immediately without penalty, but that ruling -- which was also used against Penn State -- might not apply to underclassmen like Anderson.
