OXFORD -- John Rhys Plumlee caught seven passes for 110 yards in Ole Miss' 27-14 win over Liberty.

It was a performance both he and his coach, Lane Kiffin, saw coming.

The former quarterback has been making strides at wide receiver this season, and as injuries have pillaged the Rebels' wide receiver room, his importance to the unit has increased.

"It was really cool to have a game like that," Plumlee said.

Plumlee said he knows the offense intimately. However, knowing where to be is different than knowing how to get there. He got a "little taste" of that last season when he was forced into a role as a receiver in Ole Miss' Outback Bowl win over Indiana.

"This year has been kind of a learning curve," Plumlee said. "I try to get better every week in something, whether it's watching the ball all the way into my hands because at first I had a tendency not to track it all the way in, trying to make a guy miss who was 10 yards down the field. You have to watch it all the way in.

"If it's man coverage, you have to get their hands off of you. It's little things that not everybody knows about and that I, myself, didn't really expect to have to learn, but I'm learning something new every week for sure."

Plumlee and the 12th-ranked Rebels (7-2 overall, 3-2 in the Southeastern Conference) entertain No. 11 Texas A&M (7-2, 4-2) Saturday at 6 p.m. at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium. There are rumblings that the Rebels' top three receivers -- Braylon Sanders (knee, shoulder), Jonathan Mingo (foot) and Dontario Drummond (hamstring) -- might be available, at least to some capacity, but Plumlee is preparing to play another big role.

"Really you have to see your guys down," Plumlee said. "You hate to see Bray, Drum and Mingo, your go-to guys, get hurt like that but it kind of opens up opportunities for everybody. Now, if they're coming back this week, I have no idea. But I know those guys and I know their work ethic and I know they're working hard in the training room to do all they can to get back, for sure."

Jalen Cunningham found out last Monday he was not only moving back to offense but also moving into the Rebels' starting lineup against Liberty.

The former offensive lineman-turned-defensive lineman took the move in stride and got ready as best he could.

"I'm capable of playing both sides of the ball," Cunningham said. "I know both sides of the ball very well. It wasn't that hard. ...It was a tough challenge. I just have to keep working at it."

Cunningham said he has no preference as to which side he plays on. Further, with Texas A&M's defensive line coming to town, he doesn't have time to think about anything but getting ready for the Aggies.

"They're a very versatile group, the whole front-seven, so we just have to be on our Ps and Qs, get our blocking assignments," Cunningham said.

Sam Williams is having a fantastic "contract" year. The 6-foot-4, 265-pound senior defensive end recorded two more quarterback sacks against Liberty, giving him 10.5 for the season, a single-season Ole Miss record.

He's second in the FBS in sacks and leads the SEC in that category. He's also third in the country in forced fumbles.

All of that has caused Williams' draft stock to jump. However, he said Tuesday that's not something he's thinking about.

"Tomorrow's not promised, so I just, like, every day (focus on) getting better and better," Williams said. "Stock rising, stock lowering, I go day by day. Every day I go with the same mindset of what can I do to help this team win? What can I do to make sure I'm putting my team in position to be better and have situations where they can trust me and lean on me to make plays and make big plays.

"NFL? Yeah, I think about it and and dream about it, but right now, we're focused on the next game and the next day."