The football career of Greenwood’s Sammie Epps has taken an unfortunate detour.
He went to Oxford rated a 4-star prospect and the 10th-best tight end in the country by Scout.com but is leaving without ever playing a down.
After being dismissed from Ole Miss Wednesday for what the school calls a violation of team rules, the former Greenwood High School standout receiver is likely headed to Northeast Mississippi Community College.
Epps could not be reached for comment, but he posted this on his Twitter account Wednesday about three hours after the news of his dismissal broke: “It’s a comma behind my sentence not an (sic) period.”
In mid-August of last year, Epps was arrested on charges of driving without a license and marijuana possession inside a motor vehicle. Epps, who was expected to play as a true freshman at slot receiver, was suspended for the season opener against Boise State and was later redshirted.
Freeze would never say if Epps’ arrest was the deciding factor in the coach’s decision to redshirt the GHS product.
Epps was moved back to tight end this spring.
Epps was expected to compete for playing time this fall behind junior Evan Engram, who has started for most of the past two seasons.
When asked about Epps during an April 23 visit to Greenwood, Ole Miss coach Hugh Freeze said the tight end had great potential, but that he needed to mature some on and off the field.
As a senior at GHS, he caught 46 passes for 808 yards and 11 touchdowns. He went on to be selected to play in the 2014 Offense-Defense All-American Bowl. Epps played in the Mississippi-Alabama All-Star Classic and was named Mississippi MVP after catching seven passes for 125 yards and a touchdown.
He had 45 receptions for 500 yards and three TDs as a junior after playing his sophomore season at Pillow Academy.
