OXFORD -- Malik Heath will face Kentucky for the third time in his college career on Saturday.

The former Mississippi State wide receiver lost in Lexington, 24-2, in 2020 and then helped the Bulldogs avenge that loss last season in Starkville, 31-17.

In 2020, Heath caught six passes for 23 yards. A year later, in a game in which the Bulldogs kept the ball on the ground, he caught just one pass for four yards.

Heath has emerged as a huge part of No. 14 Ole Miss' offense so far this season, catching 13 passes for 220 yards and three touchdowns. He's likely to play a big role Saturday when the Rebels (4-0 overall, 0-0 in the Southeastern Conference) entertain the seventh-ranked Wildcats (4-0, 1-0). Kickoff is set for 11 a.m. with the game televised on ESPN.

Heath said the loss in Lexington was the first time he saw the Wildcats drop eight men into coverage.

"They've got some of the same guys over there," Heath said. "They've got a couple of new players but they've got the same guys over there I saw last year."

Heath has brought animated energy to Ole Miss' receiving corps. On several occasions this past Saturday in a win over Tulsa, Heath came off the field excitedly yelling at anyone and everyone in his path.

"That's just me firing myself up," Heath said. "It's not about the ball. Guys are going to find a way to get the ball to me, so I don't really care too much about getting the ball. If you run the routes right against the right coverage, you're going to get the ball eventually."

Heath said he's seen quarterback Jaxson Dart develop in the early portion of the season.

"He's becoming a good quarterback, a great quarterback," Heath said. "He's a winner. He wants to be a winner. ...He's being more of a leader on and off the field."

Heath said Tulsa surprised Ole Miss a bit last week by loading the box to stop the run and playing man-to-man on the outside. He said he didn't think Kentucky would try to emulate Tulsa's strategy on Saturday.

"That's not what I've seen on film," Heath said. "That's not what we've seen on film. They play a lot of Cover 3. We've got two great backs and they're going to have to load the box against them. Eventually they're going to load the box and they're going to leave us one-on-one on the outside. We've just got to make a play like (Lane Kiffin) said Saturday."

Linebacker Austin Keys said Ole Miss has been locked in on tackling this week after struggling in that category against Tulsa.

"I just got done practicing tackling before I left the field," Keys said following Tuesday morning's practice.

Keys said he hasn't talked to his former Ole Miss teammates, Keidron Smith and Jacquez Jones, this week. He admitted he's thought about the two current Kentucky defenders.

"It's business this week," Keys said. "We have to handle business."

Keys was asked about linebacker Khari Coleman, who was injured at Georgia Tech and didn't play versus Tulsa.

"I'm really not even going to talk about that," Keys said. "We'll just see Saturday."

Kentucky quarterback Will Levis is off to a solid start this season, completing 79 of 117 passes for 1,185 yards, 10 touchdowns and four interceptions. The 6-foot-3, 232-pound Connecticut native figures to test Ole Miss' secondary more than anyone else has so far this season.

"They've got some very explosive receivers," Ole Miss defensive back Tysheem Johnson said. "They try to take the top off the defense. They have a good quarterback. We basically have to be ready to play this weekend, ready to stop the run and the pass."