Ole Miss Rebels tied with defending national champion Ohio State Buckeyes with three 2025 Biletnikoff Award Watch List selections
On Wednesday, it was announced junior Cayden Lee and seniors De’Zhaun Stribling and Harrison Wallace III have been named to the preseason watch list for the Biletnikoff Award, as announced by the Tallahassee Quarterback Club Foundation on Wednesday morning.The Ole Miss Rebels are tied with defending national champion Ohio State for the most Biletnikoff watch list selections at three […]
On Wednesday, it was announced junior Cayden Lee and seniors De’Zhaun Stribling and Harrison Wallace III have been named to the preseason watch list for the Biletnikoff Award, as announced by the Tallahassee Quarterback Club Foundation on Wednesday morning.
The Ole Miss Rebels are tied with defending national champion Ohio State for the most Biletnikoff watch list selections at three apiece – finishing ahead of Alabama, Auburn, Clemson, Michigan State, Penn State, and Texas Tech.
Every year, the award is given out annually to college football’s outstanding “receiver”. Any player, regardless of position (wide receiver, tight end, slot back, and running back) who catches a pass is eligible. Because of this specific distinction, the Biletnikoff Award recognizes college football’s outstanding receiver, not merely college football’s outstanding wide receiver.
Cayden Lee is the lone returner for Ole Miss on the watch list.
In 2024, Lee finished with 874 receiving yards and two touchdowns on 57 receptions. He ended the season as PFF’s top-rated FBS receiver in terms of drop rate with a season grade of 93.2. Lee played all 13 games and started 12 for the Rebels and his 57 receptions last fall finished 16th in Ole Miss single-season history.
Lee’s 20 catches of at least 20 yards ranked second in the SEC and seventh nationally. He also finished the year Top 10 in receiving yards per game (8th, 67.2), receptions per game (8th, 4.4), and receiving yards (9th, 874) in the Southeastern Conference.
Ole Miss landed two of the top wide receivers in the transfer portal.
Stribling joined Ole Miss this spring after two-year stints with Washington State and Oklahoma State where he tallied 41 career appearances. He’s hauled in 161 receptions in four years for over 2,000 total yards. Stribling enjoyed a breakout season for the Cowboys in 2024, where he led the Cowboys with 882 receiving yards and six touchdowns.
At Washington State, he led the team in every receiving category as a sophomore in 2022. He was a 2021 All-Pac-12 honorable mention selection after leading all Pac-12 freshmen in catches, receiving yards, and receiving touchdowns.
Joining Stribling in Oxford, Miss., is former Penn State pass-catcher Harrison Wallace III.
He arrived at Ole Miss after a four-year career with the Nittany Lions where the Montgomery, Ala., native finished with 84 catches and six touchdowns. Wallace is coming off a career-year which saw him finish second at Penn State in receptions (46) and receiving yards (720). Wallace was the No. 54 ranked player in the transfer portal, according to 247Sports, and the No. 16 wideout.
Wallace’s best performance at Penn State came against West Virginia in the 2024 season opener, where he hauled in a career-high 117 receiving yards with a pair of touchdowns.
Semifinalists will be announced November 17 and the finalists will be unveiled November 25. The winner will ultimately be announced on ESPN during The Home Depot College Football Awards show December 11.
