JAKE’S TAKE: The Ole Miss wide receivers room still needs one more big-time playmaker

Ole Miss head coach Lane Kiffin did not receive the news he was hoping for when Keon Coleman picked Florida State over the Rebels on Wednesday.

The Rebels wide receivers room still has a spot to fill after the dismissal of Chris Marshall earlier this month and the loss of Coleman to the Seminoles in the transfer portal – NIL battle.

After watching the first spring without Jonathan Mingo and Malik Heath roaming the practice fields it became apparent Ole Miss is still lacking that star 1A receiver for Jaxson Dart, Spencer Sanders and Walker Howard to connect with.

That was where the arrival of Coleman in the portal upon choosing to depart from the Spartans this spring became a golden opportunity. Ole Miss went all in on Coleman and felt good about where things stood up to this weekend.

Then as the week progressed the chatter of Coleman and Florida State grew and Wednesday that connection became official, leaving Ole Miss out in the cold.

Though the Rebels are not completely without at the position as there is plenty of talent in the position group led by returners Jordan Watkins, JJ Henry and Jalen Knox.

Ole Miss land other transfers besides Marshall, who came from Texas A&M, with former Louisiana Tech wide out Tre Harris making the move to Oxford.

But there is still the feeling one more top-tier talent joining the Ole Miss roster would help bolster a wide receivers group that earned an honorable mention by On3’s Jesse Simonton when doing his Top 10 rankings position-by-position.

Of course do not forget about walk-on Dayton Wade who had a breakout year himself in 2022. The stats were not video-game level but Wade’s play made him a reliable target for Dart throughout last season. Wade returns for a second year in the system, but was held out for most of spring practices due to injury.

Currently Ole Miss is looking at the duo of Harris and Watkins as its top two receivers with a talented supporting cast.

The portal shopping is not over for the Rebels as they had a backup plan in place if or when Coleman opted to take his talents elsewhere.

That plan involves former UTSA receiver Zakhari Franklin, which the Ole Miss Spirit has reported is in talks with the Rebels to potentially come to Oxford.

Franklin was a three-star prospect and the No. 2,494 overall recruit in the 2019 recruiting class, according to the On3 Industry Rankings.

Ole Miss has an offense full of talent returning that starts with last year’s Southeastern Conference rushing title winner Quinshon Judkins. The Rebels continued to bolster the offense with the addition of former Memphis tight end Caden Prieskorn to join Michael Trigg.

Points should still be scored by this Ole Miss team but adding more depth to the wide receivers position never hurts. The prospects of injuries is a common worry and if any of the aforementioned receivers go down then the depth chart is currently thin beyond a two-deep scenario.

Look for Kiffin and company to still land one more receiver out of the portal and Franklin could be that guy.

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