Ole Miss offense looks like they have their next A.J. Brown, DK Metcalf, Elijah Moore, and Dawson Knox
Back in 2018 Ole Miss may not have had a good enough defense to win a ton of games, but their elite receiving weapons were some of the best in Rebels' program history. A.J. Brown, DK Metcalf, Elijah Moore, and Dawson Knox (not to mention DaMarkus Lodge) formed a near unstoppable set of playmakers. Now, […]
Back in 2018 Ole Miss may not have had a good enough defense to win a ton of games, but their elite receiving weapons were some of the best in Rebels' program history. A.J. Brown, DK Metcalf, Elijah Moore, and Dawson Knox (not to mention DaMarkus Lodge) formed a near unstoppable set of playmakers. Now, just six years later, Ole Miss looks like they have a set of receiving threats that could somehow match 2018.
Yes, the production has come against some weaker competition, but through just two games Ole Miss already has four different players with 125+ receiving yards, and Jaxson Dart leads all quarterbacks in most every meaningful pass efficiency measure.
Thanks to his connection with Tre Harris, Dart was able to set the Ole Miss record for both consecutive and total completions in a game last weekend against MTSU. Harris already has over 300 yards and two scores through two games, leading the entire SEC by more 100 receiving yards.
At 6'3", 210 pounds, Harris' has a familiar size-strength-speed combination that made A.J. Brown once near impossible to defend at Ole Miss. He can take the simplest screen or short route for a big gain as he bullies or runs by defenders. And when you need him to climb the ladder at the catch point he can make unbelievable grabs like DK Metcalf once did too.
He's on pace to have one of most prolific receiving seasons in Ole Miss history and that should continue. Harris' 7.2 yards per route run is completely unsustainable (triple the typical WR1 efficiency), but he's showing a much more complete skill set this season that is going to be hard to stop.
Jaxson Dart showing exactly why he’s the best quarterback in the SEC as he plays perfectly for Ole Miss
Jaxson Dart is two games into his 2024 college football season with Ole Miss and he's looked near absolutely perfect. In Week 1 he tossed the rock for over 400 yards and five touchdowns in the first half alone against lowly Furman. But his Week 2 performance against a much better MTSU team was even […]
The offense isn't just the Tre Harris show though. Antwane Wells Jr. (or Juice Wells) has consistently shown incredible explosion through two games. He and Harris both are averaging more than 8.5 yards after the catch, but Wells has been so efficient that he currently has a truly perfect passer rating when targeted. On just nine targets he has 148 yards and two touchdowns.
At 6'0", 205 pounds, he's as thick as some running backs, but has the vertical speed to burn past anybody. We'll see if that continues once he faces stiffer competition, but just like a combination of A.J. Brown and Elijah Moore in 2018 he can add YAC with speed, and win both from the inside and out.
Outside of the top two options for Ole Miss, tight end Caden Prieskorn and slot wide receiver Cayden Lee have played incredibly well. And surprisingly, both of their average depth of target marks are well over a dozen yards downfield. Not your normal slot and tight end usage. You can see how that happens on Prieskorn's long TD in the post below.
Lee is somehow operating as the team's primary deep threat from the slot so far, creating mismatch issues and running straight to space at the second and third levels of defenses. Prieskorn is lining up everywhere, but has specialized operating as an indefensible jumbo slot who can manhandle in run blocking situations too. That fun slot receiver and tight end tandem makes for some wild mismatch issues on near every play.
The Ole Miss scheme is certainly creating prime opportunities for all the receiving weapons to take advantage of, but all four top options are executing at an extremely elite level thus far. Will they combine for an incredible near-3000 combined receiving yards like the top notch group of playmakers did for Ole Miss back in 2018? That's still a long way off. But given how amazing they look thus far that outcome is certainly in the cards.
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