Ole Miss Rebels 2024 Elite Wide Receiver Hall

Lane Kiffin may be considered a “quarterback whisperer,” but the Ole Miss Rebels head coach has also assembled an elite group of wide receivers for the 2024 season.

Ole Miss returns to strong production at wideout after its 11-2 season in 2023, but it also made moves in the transfer portal to help strengthen the group this offseason. Add in some young talent waiting in the wings, and quarterback Jaxson Dart should have plenty of weapons at his disposal in the passing game this fall.

The hype is understandable, but what should we expect from this position group in 2024? Let’s dive below.

Familiar faces

There’s a lot of talk about Ole Miss’ conquests in the transfer portal, and for good reason. But just as important for this team was retaining the roster from a year ago, and the Rebels were able to achieve that at the wide receiver position.

Tre Harris and Jordan Watkins were both part of Ole Miss history, but they chose to stay in Oxford for another season in hopes of reaching the College Football Playoff. Even after battling injuries in 2023, these two still found themselves statistically among the Rebels’ best receivers.

Harris led Ole Miss in receiving yards last season with 985, and Watkins came in third with 741. They also combined for 11 scores, making them a deadly combination on the field when a big catch is needed in 2024. Harris holds the school record for most scores received in a game (4), and it happened in his first action as a Rebel in Week 1 of last season against Mercer.

Adding new talent is a good thing, but retaining veteran leadership (and talented leadership, at that) is huge for this team.

New faces

The biggest boost for Ole Miss at receiver this offseason obviously came from Antwane “Juice” Wells who joined the Rebels from the South Carolina Gamecocks.

Wells’ 2023 season was cut short due to injury, but in 2022 he had 68 receptions for 928 yards and six scores for the Gamecocks. While with James Madison the previous season, he eclipsed 1,200 receiving yards and found the end zone 15 times.

The Rebels also added a sometimes overlooked talent in Devin Price from Florida Atlantic, and Deion Smith signed with Ole Miss during Early Signing Day in December, coming to Oxford via LSU and Holmes (Miss.) Community College .

It’s never easy adjusting to a new location, but these receivers have the talent to make it work in Oxford, and with the leadership of guys like Watkins and Harris, they should make an impact.

Young faces

It’s those “flashier” names that will draw the most attention to Ole Miss, but this group has some young talent that has been turning heads since arriving at Oxford.

Ayden Williams and Cayden Lee fit best into this category. Lee had a bit of a celebration in the 2023 Peach Bowl, hauling in three receptions for 29 yards, and he will likely play a bigger role on the team this fall.

Williams also has plenty of talent at his disposal, and while he hasn’t seen much action in 2023, that could change this fall now that he has more experience under his belt. Playing time may not be as plentiful for this duo as some of the big names, but learning and growing in this environment is essential.