Tupelo (Miss.) 2019 defensive back Tavario Standifer knows who the head coach is at Ole Miss, he knows what the NCAA sanctions are and he knows that he wants to be a Rebel.

Two weeks ago he saw his close friend, teammate Jordan Jernigan commit to Ole Miss and the duo out of Tupelo will stay together in Oxford.

"I have been thinking about committing to Ole Miss for a couple of weeks now and I just feel now is the right time," said Standifer. "I just felt there was no reason to wait any longer. I knew were I wanted to go, so I committed."

Standifer had no worries about the penalties Ole Miss would receive from the NCAA, but his eye was on the coaching situation. He has a lot of respect for Matt Luke, so when the interim tag was taken off, the decision became an easy one for one of the top juniors in Mississippi.

"I was always a Mississippi State fan growing up, but getting to know coach Luke and talking to him really caught my attention. I was just waiting on him to get the job really.

"He has love for Ole Miss, he is a great coach and when he got the job as the head coach, there was no doubt in my mind that Ole Miss was where I was going."

It came down to two key factors for the 6-foot-2, 202 pound playmaker when he made his decision.

"I chose Ole Miss because of the coaching staff there and how it is close to home," said Standifer.

Getting to play with Jernigan on the next level is nice, but Standifer said that did not play into his decision.