Ole Miss tight end Caden Prieskorn persevering through tough times after loss of his father: ‘I’m just going to keep playing for him’
OXFORD, Miss. — Being a Division I college football player in the toughest league in the country has to be challenging. But it could be darn near overwhelming if one is also trying to handle the lengthy illness and subsequent passing of a parent, all the while trying to remain focused on your sport. This is exactly what Ole Miss tight end Caden Prieskorn has been dealing with this season, as his father, Jerry, passed away October 10 after a long battle with cancer. The young man has had a lot on his plate, yet continues to work hard and carry himself with class.
He was asked at Monday’s press conference just how hard it has been to manage all of this.
“Yeah, it was definitely difficult because of just having a lot of stuff on my mind. But he (his dad) always told me just ‘keep doing what you’re doing.’ He was always proud of me, so he’s like ‘never worry about me, just worry about what you got going on.’ That kind of stuck with me and he just wants to see me do well. I’m just going to keep playing for him.”
Caden Prieskorn
And he is doing very well on the field, just as his father hoped for.
Against Auburn Saturday, Prieskorn tallied a career-high 63 yards — the most yards by an Ole Miss tight end in a single game since 2021. On the season, he has six receptions for 125 yards, averaging a whopping 20.8 yards per catch.
He credits his loved ones for helping get him through such tough times.
“I got a lot of good family here and around me with my family back home in Michigan. My wife and son keep me busy as well.”
Caden Prieskorn
The Prieskorn family has a GoFundMe set up to help his mother Jill. To make a donation, click here.
The highly-sought after Prieskorn transferred to Ole Miss in January from Memphis, and that had to bring its own challenges as he navigated a new team and new town. And then he suffered an injury in fall camp that kept him out of the Rebels’ first three games.
During the Rebels’ bye week, Caden went home to be with his family after his father passed. Coach Kiffin, at the time, explained just what a strong man his tight end is.
“Like I said before, that’s a very tough situation for anybody to go through, let alone in the season. He has some other personal things going on too, so I just really commend him for what a man he is and how he’s handled all of it and fought through it. This was not new information, he’s known this for a while, which obviously makes it even more difficult to deal with, with his father’s condition. He’s really a stud.”
Lane Kiffin on Caden Prieskorn
In Sunday’s press conference, Coach Kiffin indicated the Rebels’ ground game has improved in large part because of Prieskorn’s presence on the field. The 6-foot-5 tight end is not just a sure-handed receiver, he’s a monster blocker.
Still, even with the support of friends and family and his team, it cannot be easy to deal with such a major loss. But from Prieskorn’s perspective, he just loves the game and wants to make his dad proud.
“I’ve just been going through a lot lately. I kind of keep football — I just love the game so much. My dad knew I loved the game so much, he just wants to see me do well and accomplish all my goals.”
Caden Prieskorn
He is definitely helping his Ole Miss team achieve its goals, so look for more of that as Prieskorn reports he is finally completely healthy. He says he is no longer wearing the ‘non-contact’ jersey during practices.
“(I’m) finally being able to be 100 percent,” Prieskorn said Monday. “Last week was the first week I’ve actually practiced everyday. “…This is the best I’ve felt all season even through camp. Now we just gotta keep things going…Finally I’m 100 percent in a red jersey (not black non-contact), a full-go.”
Prieskorn is not taking lightly the Rebels’ upcoming opponent, the Vanderbilt Commodores, who sit at 2-6 and 0-4 in SEC play.
“They’ve got a lot of experience, they’ve got a lot of older dudes that have played a lot of college football. I feel like that helps anyone in the country. If you’ve got older dudes, there’s a lot of good leadership in there. You’ve seen around college football that you can be beat any week, so we gotta come prepared and ready to go.”
Caden Prieskorn on Vanderbilt
Ole Miss hosts Vandy Saturday, October 28, in the Rebels’ Homecoming game. Kickoff is set for 6:30 p.m. CT, and the game will be broadcast on the SEC Network.
Evelyn Van Pelt
Evelyn has covered sports for over two decades, beginning her journalism career as a sports writer for a newspaper in Austin, Texas. She attended Texas A&M and majored in English. Evelyn’s love for Ole Miss began when her daughter Katie attended the university on a volleyball scholarship. Evelyn created the Rebel Walk in 2013 and has served as publisher and managing editor since its inception.
