OXFORD, Miss. -- ­ Ole Miss officials announced Thursday that defensive lineman Jerrell Powe has signed a Southeastern Conference scholarship with the Rebels and has been provisionally admitted to The University of Mississippi.

Thursday’s action was the result of the University having received Powe’s application for admission and transcript.

“We communicated earlier this week with Jerrell and his attorney to reiterate our scholarship offer and expressed again our interest in his success,” said Ole Miss Athletics Director Pete Boone.  “Jerrell called me and indicated his desire to attend Ole Miss.  He then provided the documents necessary for provisional admission.”

With Powe signing scholarship papers and having been provisionally admitted to Ole Miss, Boone said Powe still must be certified eligible by the NCAA before he may compete for the Rebels.  The NCAA has requested additional information from Powe to determine his initial eligibility.

“We have not seen or reviewed any of the documents recently provided to the NCAA by Mr. Powe’s lawyer,” said David Wells, Ole Miss Senior Associate Athletics Director for Compliance.

“Accordingly, at this time we are not in a position to provide the NCAA the information it has requested.  We understand Mr. Powe’s lawyer has been gathering this information and we stand ready to assist him.”

NCAA rules permit Powe to practice with Coach Ed Orgeron’s Rebels for a maximum of 14 days.  Powe may only continue practicing if he has been certified eligible by the NCAA Initial Eligibility Clearinghouse.

“This is a great story of a kid remaining persistent and staying loyal to Ole Miss," Orgeron said. "I can’t say enough about Jerrell and his family.  He believes in what we are doing here and wants to represent the state.  We are glad he is through step one, but obviously he has to get cleared through the NCAA.”

Powe talked about finally making it to Ole Miss and getting to practice with his teammates for the first time.

“I am excited about being a part of the Ole Miss family and finally getting on the field,” said Powe after Thursday’s practice.   “It’s been a long wait.  I’ve got to work hard to get back in football shape, but once I get the rust knocked off, I’ll be ok.”

Powe, a 6-3, 330-pounder from Waynesboro, Miss., was a Parade All-America selection at Wayne County High and played in the U.S. Army All-America Bowl in San Antonio, Texas.  He was a three-time All-State pick who was named Mr. Football in the state of Mississippi in 2004 by The Clarion-Ledger.