OXFORD | Ole Miss had to rebuild its receiver room following last season, and the Rebels hope De’Zhaun Stribling is a lynchpin to that transition.
The former Washington State and Oklahoma State pass-catcher brings more than 2,200 career snaps and 2,152 yards to Oxford following two seasons each with the Cougars and Cowboys. At least 70 targets came his way in three of the four years.
He played in four games in 2023 before a wrist injury ended his season. Stribling, a 6-foot-2, 200-pounder, had 52 catches on 92 targets for 882 yards and six touchdowns last season.
"Really just trying to go somewhere where I can catch the ball and score some touchdowns and win games," Stribling said about his decision to transfer to Ole Miss. "That was the process going into it. There's a lot of great receivers to come through here, guys who have won a lot of games and scored a lot of points. I wanted to be part of something like that.”
Ole Miss must replace Tre Harris and Jordan Watkins, who combined for 1,936 yards receiving a year ago. Juice Wells, who added 550 yards receiving, is also gone. Harris is expected to go as high as the second round in the NFL Draft this week, and Watkins ran a 4.38 40-yard dash during the NFL Combine.
The Rebels threw for 4,558 yards and 31 touchdowns as a team during the 10-3 season.
"You could look at everybody, but a significant name could be Tre Harris,” Stribling said. “You saw what he did last year in the games that he played. Not just him, but the three receivers they had also. The ball will be thrown out there and there are points to score."
Cayden Lee is the veteran of this year’s group. He added 874 yards and a team-high 79.2 receiving percentage in 2024. The Rebels added, in addition to Stribling, Caleb Odom from Alabama, Harrison Wallace from Penn State, Tralon Ray from West Virginia and Deuce Alexander from Wake Forest.
"We've meshed pretty quickly as a unit because we all have the same objective and goal in mind,” Stribling said. “We push each other every day and work on those goals… I'm getting familiar with the offense and performing at a high level."
Stribling’s stats in Stillwater suffered because of inconsistent quarterback play. He caught only five of 24 passes more than 20 yards down the field, but he dropped just one of those targets. OSU connected with Stribling once on 11 deep throws down the left sideline.
He also had one drop on throws of 10-19 yards but only a 58 percent catch rate. PFF College gave him a 98.3 score on those routes.
Austin Simmons is Stribling’s new quarterback, as the third-year player replaces three-year starter Jaxson Dart. Teammates have given Simmons high marks early in his role as the Rebels’ new leader.
"Austin is a great guy, great leader,” Stribling said. “He's young, but he's getting a hold of everything. Offense, things are going smoothly and clicking and stuff like that. It's been a great spring of learning and getting things under control, knowing our assignments
“He and I go out and eat once a week, just a recap of what the week was like and how the day was. Having not just a quarterback, but a friend who cares about you, it's really good."
