By DOUG IRELAND, Journal Sports
Not long ago, Shreveport’s Devin Harper saw his football future playing at Ole Miss but now he’s embroiled in a bad breakup with the Rebels.
As he prepares for his second college season, he’s in Baton Rouge as an LSU Tiger offensive lineman, and is the subject of a $400,000 lawsuit by his former college’s athletic department.
The suit was filed Monday in Lafayette (Miss.) County circuit court, where the University of Mississippi is located. A similar suit, seeking over $500,000, was filed against former Ole Miss starting linebacker Princewill Umanmielen, who also bolted for LSU in the aftermath of coach Lake Kiffin’s move from Ole Miss to take over the Tigers’ program.
Late in his senior season at Calvary Baptist Academy, Harper signed a football scholarship with Ole Miss in December 2024. He played in six games last season as the Rebels reached the semifinals of the College Football Playoffs, losing Jan. 8 to Miami in the Fiesta Bowl.
The university says he signed a revenue-sharing agreement Jan. 6 to remain with the Rebels, but he entered the transfer portal eight days later and signed to play at LSU on Jan. 16. The Jackson Clarion-Ledger reported the agreements signed by both former Rebels contained buyouts for voluntarily breaching their contracts in a 90-day window (referred to as the early-termination period), and neither has paid Ole Miss the contracted buyout.
A statement from Ole Miss Tuesday explained the rationale behind the lawsuits and said the university tried to resolve the disputes before taking legal action. A timeline released by the Rebels said a letter was sent to Harper upon his departure “requesting payment” and got no response, and on Feb. 13 sent another letter setting a 30-day deadline to pay the buyout, again not answered.
On March 12, according to Ole Miss, it asked LSU to make the payment and six days later, LSU responded it was not party to the contract and would not pay.
When the lawsuit was filed Monday, Ole Miss said it “contacted” Harper and LSU “requesting payment to avoid additional (legal) costs.”
“The University of Mississippi values its student-athletes and is committed to honoring all obligations made to them. In return, the university expects that same commitment from its student-athletes and their representatives in upholding their contracts,” the statement said.
“Before transferring to another institution, student-athletes Devin Harper and Princewill Umanmielen signed revenue-sharing agreements that included a provision requiring them to compensate the university with a predetermined amount if they departed before fulfilling their commitment. The University of Mississippi has a responsibility to enforce its contractual terms, and this position is consistent with the actions of other institutions in the current landscape of college athletics.”
The players and LSU had no comment about the lawsuit Tuesday.
Although his freshman year at Ole Miss was unremarkable in games, the amount of his buyout indicates the Rebels’ coaches expected him to become a key asset up front. In six games in 2025, he played 72 total snaps with 57 coming at right tackle and 7 at left tackle, with a season-high 33 snaps against The Citadel. He got 10 offensive snaps in the Rebels’ College Football Playoff rout of Tulane.
Harper, whose high school football career finished at Calvary Baptist after three years at Captain Shreve, was a standout in his final two prep seasons in Shreveport. The 6-4, 312-pounder was rated a consensus 4-star recruit in the Class of 2025 and ranked among the nation’s Top 15 offensive tackles. On3.com rated him the No. 5 offensive tackle prospect.
He was the No. 121 recruit in the ESPN 300 rankings. He ranked among Louisiana’s top10 prospects by ESPN, Rivals, 247, and On3, reaching as high as No. 3 by 247.
He was all-district as a junior for Shreve’s 9-1 Gators, then made Class 2A All-State for Calvary.
Contact Doug at sbjdoug@gmail.com