On Wednesday, Detraveon Brown, a wide receiver from Shreveport, Louisiana, pulled an Ole Miss hat out of a bag under the table during a ceremony at Northwood High School and announced he was signing with the school.
“They are the SEC and they’re a big-time athletic program,” Brown told The Shreveport Times after the ceremony. “I wanted to compete with the best, so that’s why I’m taking my talents there.”
But Ole Miss never announced the signing, and it wasn’t clear what Brown had signed for the cameras. Ole Miss officials told ESPN that Brown did not receive a formal offer nor was he sent scholarship papers.
On Thursday, North Texas announced that Brown signed with the Mean Green. Brown, who had taken an official visit to Ole Miss last weekend, made a statement on Twitter to try to explain what happened.
“Until yesterday, I was pretty sure that I was on my way to Ole Miss,” he said. “This assumption was based on a verbal offer from the school and reassurance even into the final hours that I would receive my National Letter of Intent today. As you know, this is not the case.
“Words can’t describe the stress and disappointment that this has caused my family. However, I am still optimistic about my future as a collegiate football player and will continue to strive to make my dream a reality.”
Brown, a 5-foot-11, 178-pound receiver, was a 3-star recruit who caught 57 passes for 904 yards and 20 touchdowns this past season.
North Texas coach Seth Littrell welcomed him on Thursday on Twitter.