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Marks gives Ole Miss another playmaker on offense

Lane Kiffin and his staff received good news in consecutive days after former Florida Gators wide receiver Dionte Marks announced that he would be leaving Gainesville, Fla., for Oxford, Miss., on his Instagram Wednesday evening.

The 2019 signee redshirted In 2019 after appearing in just two games for the Gators and Dan Mullen. Prior to his arrival, Marks was busy running away from the Sunshine State's 8A competition at DeLand High School.

As a senior, Marks caught 45 passes for 964 yards and 11 touchdowns, leading the Bulldogs to an 8-3 record and a berth in the FHSAA Class 8A playoffs.

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Marks chose the Gators over notable offers from Florida Atlantic, Louisville, Mississippi State, UCF and West Virginia among others. Kiffin and his staff recruited Marks extremely hard when they were in Boca Raton, but he ultimately chose the SEC East program.

Last week, the newest Rebel announced his intentions to enter the transfer portal and quickly declared two days later that he was heading south to Orlando to play for Josh Heupel and UCF.

But, he then walked back that decision, telling the Orlando Sentinel that he made the decision a little too fast and needed more time to think about it.

Enter Kiffin and Jeff Lebby.

The two coaches, who are very familiar with the formerly-ranked 5.7 three-star receiver, reached out to Marks about joining them at Ole Miss and seemingly, the rest is history. The 2019 class' No. 56 receiver quickly announced his transfer to the Rebels on Twitter and Instagram.

There's a lot to like about the 6-foot-2, 178-pounder. He has plenty of wiggle to play inside and the speed and length to get by corners on the outside. He attacks the ball in one-on-one situations, isn't afraid to mix things up in traffic over the middle, and can separate in space from would-be defenders.

ANALYSIS: Marks will join a wide receiver room in Oxford that has a considerable amount of length and size. Derrick Nix's newest position group member will absolutely factor in to the rotation in 2021 and I would not be shocked if he has an integral role in Lebby's offense next season.

Marks, who will arrive in Oxford as a redshirt freshman, will reportedly have to sit out one year due to NCAA transfer rules.

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