This is part three of an eight-part series where the Daily Mississippian’s David Collier and Matt Sigler give a position-by-position breakdown of the Franklin American Mortgage Music City Bowl featuring Ole Miss and Georgia Tech. Today, we will take a look at the wide receivers/tight ends.
As we’ve said before, there aren’t too many similarities between Ole Miss and Georgia Tech on the offensive side of the ball, and there may not be another position where the two teams are more different than at wide receiver. When the two squads clash in the Franklin American Mortgage Music City Bowl in Nashville on Dec. 30, you’ll see two drastically different looks at wide receiver.
Both the Rebels (7-5, 3-5 Southeastern Conference) and the Yellow Jackets (7-5, 5-3 ACC) use their wide receivers to block more than most, but Georgia Tech’s wideouts don’t get much action in the passing game because of their unique triple-option look, while Ole MIss’ guys could see upwards of 40 passes come their way.
The discrepancy between how many looks Ole Miss’ receivers get compared to Georgia Tech’s is no secret. The Rebels’ receiving corps catch 23.9 balls per game, compared to just 7.3 receptions per game for the Yellow Jackets.
Georgia Tech is led by senior running back Robert Godhigh and junior wide receiver DeAndre Smelter, who both have a team-high 21 receptions on the year. Godhigh has 420 receiving yards and two touchdowns, while Smelter has accounted for 345 yards and four touchdowns receiving.
Sophomore Darren Waller has 15 catches for 288 yards and two touchdowns, and freshman Michael Summers has 211 yards on 10 receptions.
Beyond those four players, Georgia Tech doesn’t have anyone else with more than five catches on the season.
Ole Miss is balanced at wide receiver, relying on four main guys to do most of the damage in the passing game. However, one of their weapons, senior Ja-Mes Logan, will likely not be available for the Music City Bowl due to academic issues, according to multiple reports. Logan was second on the 
team with 583 yards on 44 receptions and three touchdowns.
Still though, the Rebels will have a dynamic group leading their receivers in juniors Donte Moncrief and Vince Sanders as well as talented freshman Laquon Treadwell, who was named the SEC Freshman of the Year.
Moncrief leads Ole Miss in receiving yards (825) followed by Treadwell (557) and Sanders (325). Treadwell is the leader in catches (67), while Moncrief is close behind with 53. Moncrief and Treadwell both lead the team with five receiving touchdowns. Sanders, who missed the first three games with a broken collarbone, has one touchdown catch on the year.
Secondary options for Ole Miss include senior Jordan Holder and freshman Quincy Adeboyejo.
At tight end, the Rebels won’t pose a threat much in the passing game. Early in the year, freshman Evan Engram was providing mismatches for Ole Miss, but a knee injury shortened his season and took away any aerial threat for the Rebels from the tight end spot.
Junior Nick Parker will fill the void and has two catches and a touchdown, but he will be utilized more in the running game as a blocker.
Analysis
It’s obvious that both Ole Miss and Georgia Tech are looking to get different things out of their wide receivers.
The Rebels can give the Yellow Jackets secondary a lot of problems with their ability to spread the field and turn short passes into big gains, and Georgia Tech’s wideouts can turn a solid run into a huge run with their ability to block on the perimeter in the running game.
Because of the Yellow Jacket’s desire to run, look for Ole Miss to crowd the box and leave their corners on islands against Georgia Tech’s wideouts. With some younger guys in the Rebels’ secondary, the Yellow Jackets could take a couple of deep shots, but it’s safe to say Ole Miss will be cheating their safeties near the line of scrimmage.
As for Georgia Tech, they need to get pressure on Bo Wallace, which shouldn’t be too hard against a depleted Ole Miss offensive line. If they can get constant pressure up the middle, they’ll force Wallace into quick decisions, stop the rushing attack from Ole Miss and force the Rebels into third-and-longs.
On Monday, Matt Sigler will break down the offensive line for Ole Miss and Georgia Tech.
In Case You Missed It
Music City Breakdown: Quarterbacks
Music City Breakdown: Running Backs
For continuing coverage of Ole Miss football, follow @DavidLCollier, @SigNewton_2 and @thedm_sports on Twitter.
— David Collier
thedmsports@gmail.com
