Ole Miss had unprecedented recruiting success during Hugh Freeze’s tenure, and no place more so than at the receiver position. Ole Miss has accumulated a stable of talented receivers in the previous three recruiting classes, and 2016 was no different.
A.J. Brown (Courtesy: 24/7 Sports)
A.J. Brown- The four-star wide receiver was the biggest steal of the 2016 class because of his hometown. The Starkville product elected to spend the next few years in Oxford as opposed to his hometown school, Mississippi State. Brown draws a lot of comparison to former Ole Miss star Laquon Treadwell because of the way he plays and because of his 6-foot-2-inch, 220-pound frame. Brown will likely be an immediate contributor in a deep receiving core for Ole Miss next season.
D.K. Metcalf- Metcalf, a consensus four-star receiver, hails from right here in Oxford. Metcalf’s father, Terrence, was an All-American offensive lineman for the Rebels in the 1990s and 2000s. The younger Metcalf comes in at 6 feet 5 inches and 211 pounds. He looks to be a solid replacement for the
departing Cody Core. Metcalf, while not a burner, possesses decent speed. With his size, Metcalf is able to create mismatches for opposing defensive coordinators.
D.K. Metcalf (Courtesy: 24/7 Sports)
Metcalf is also a very physical blocker, something that is necessary since the Rebels rely on the wideouts to spring the running backs to the outside.
Tre Nixon- The Viera, Florida, product chose Ole Miss over Georgia, giving the Rebels another threat. Nixon is listed at 6-foot-1-inch, 165 pounds and is the most likely out of the group to redshirt, in part due to the depth the Rebels currently have at receiver. He has a tremendous amount of speed, and might be Ole Miss’ fastest receiver. Nixon has the potential to develop into receiver and plays a little bit like Quincy Adeboyejo.
Ole Miss will have a stable of receivers returning to the rotation next fall. The Rebels return Damore’ea Stringfellow, Quincy Adeboyejo, Markell Pack
and Derrick Jones next year, and will also expect contributions from redshirt freshmen Van Jefferson and Damarkus Lodge, who were highly coveted talents in
Tre Nixon (Courtesy: 24/7 Sports)
the 2015 class.
Chad Kelly will have a number of different targets from which to choose, with a variety of different skill sets. The biggest problem Ole Miss might have next year is finding a way to make all of these targets consistent contributors in its offense next year – there is only one football to go around.
