Ole Miss football was expected to finish fourth, while six Rebels were picked to the Preseason All-SEC squad on Friday in a poll by media members during the 2024 SEC Media Days this past week. Representing Ole Miss on the media’s All-SEC team are senior wide receiver Tre Harris (first-team), senior tight end Caden Prieskorn (first-team), junior defensive tackle Walter Nolen (first-team), senior defensive end Jared Ivey (second-team), senior running back Ulysses Bentley IV (third-team) and senior defensive end Princely Umanmielen (third-team).
With 2,783 points in the team poll, the Rebels trail only Georgia (3,330), Texas (3,041) and Alabama (2,891) in the pursuit for the first SEC title with no divisions since 1991. The participants of the game will be chosen throughout the eight-game regular-season conference schedule as the teams having the two best overall SEC winning percentages. Only nine times since 1992 (32 years) has the anticipated winner before to the season at SEC Media Days proceeded to win the SEC Championship Game.
Harris – a 2023 Biletnikoff Award watch list member – enters his second year at Ole Miss following a breakout year last autumn that saw him snare 54 receptions for 985 yards and eight touchdowns – four of which came in his debut game as a Rebel against Mercer to break the single-game school record. His 213 yards vs. Texas A&M also ranks as the sixth-best game in Ole Miss history, making him the lone Rebel receiver all-time and one of five in the FBS since 2021 with both a 200-yard game and four-touchdown game receiving. Harris’ eight TDs are tied for sixth in the Ole Miss single-season records, while his 985 yards rank seventh. Harris concluded 2023 inside the SEC top-10 in receiving touchdowns (fourth), yards per reception (fourth, 18.2), receiving yards (fifth), receiving yards per game (fifth, 82.1) and catches per game (ninth, 4.5).Prieskorn was a second-team member of the Coaches All-SEC team following a good first season with the Rebels in 2023, highlighted by a remarkable performance in the Peach Bowl that garnered him Offensive MVP accolades. Despite missing the first three games due to injury, Prieskorn concluded the year with a final line of 30 receptions for 449 yards and four touchdowns — a major amount of which came in the Peach Bowl versus Penn State. In Atlanta, Prieskorn exploded for an Ole Miss bowl game record 10 catches for 136 yards and two touchdowns and a two-point convert. In 2023, Prieskorn topped all SEC tight ends with 14.97 yards per catch.
Nolen, who transferred from Texas A&M this past summer, is in his first season at Ole Miss. According to On3 and Rivals, he is a consensus five-star transfer and the nation’s No. 2 overall pick. For the Aggies, Nolen played in 22 games in his career. In 2023, he made 10 starts at defensive line. The former prep Under Armour All-American finished the previous season with 37 total tackles, including four sacks as a sophomore and 8.5 tackles for loss.
Ivey, who is returning after a great season in which he wreaked havoc for Ole Miss’ defense, is about to begin his third season as a regular on the defensive line in 2023. Ivey had two fumble recoveries, a pass deflection, and career highs in tackles (46), tackles for loss (11.5), and sacks (5.5) during the season. In addition to leading the Rebel defense in TFL and sacks, he also had two fumble recoveries that were critical to Ole Miss’s 37-20 victory over No. 22 Tulane. He recovered Khari Coleman’s sack fumble in the fourth quarter and scored from 26 yards away. For the Rebels in the Peach Bowl as well, Ivey was a one-man wrecking crew. He won Defensive MVP after recording five tackles, 2.0 tackles for loss, one fumble recovery, one QB hurry, and one pass breakup in the victory over the Nittany Lions.
After missing more than half of the 2022 season due to injury, Bentley, who is currently in his third season as a Rebel, just finished a complete season of competition. Bentley finished 2023 with 95 total runs for 540 yards and four touchdowns, as well as 11 total catches for 87 yards and a touchdown in the air. Bentley also returned 14 kickoffs for 272 yards last season, handling most of the Rebels’ kickoff returns.
As another important addition to the Rebels’ top-ranked transfer class, Umanmielen is expected to start his debut season at Ole Miss. The senior defensive end is a transfer from Florida, where he played for the Gators for his whole career in 2023, totaling 39 tackles and team highs in TFL (11.5) and sacks (7.0). Thirteen quarterback hurries, a club record, were also recorded by the 2023 All-SEC second team selection. Umanmielen played in 45 games during his four-year tenure with Florida, recording 24.5 tackles for loss and 15 sacks.
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