Caden Prieskorn leads a deep, talented Ole Miss tight end room
OXFORD, Miss. — The 2024 Ole Miss offense is loaded with talent. There are capable quarterbacks, running backs, and wide receivers, and the offensive line will be bigger and deeper.
But among the most talented position groups might be the tight ends.
Senior Caden Prieskorn returns after earning Offensive MVP honors in the Peach Bowl last year after racking up ten receptions and two touchdowns in the game, as well as a successful reception for a two-point conversion. Add to him returners Hudson Wolfe, Jayvontay Conner and Virginia Tech transfer Dae’Quan Wright and the tight end room is a formidable one.
TE Caden Prieskorn is gonna help open up the middle of the field for the Rebels this fall! Might be a touchdown catching machine in Kiffin’s offense! 👀🔴🔵 pic.twitter.com/LHwKPYZX17
— Derrell Hart Jr., Pharm.D. (@Derrell_PharmD) August 20, 2023
The elder statesman of the group likes the progress he has seen at practice.
“I feel like we’re all doing a really good job during spring ball,” Prieskorn said.
“Just making plays in the run game and pass game. I feel like we have a great group– me, bringing in Dae’Quan, JC, Hudson and even the rest of the guys. I feel like we have a great tight end group this year.”
Caden Prieskorn
Adding a talent like Wright through the transfer portal might make some players jealous, but that’s not the case with the Rebels. His teammates have welcomed him to Oxford with open arms.
“I feel like it’s a great addition to the team,” Prieskorn said. “He’s a great player as well, just added to a great group of other tight ends as well.”
Last season, Wright caught 28 passes for 366 yards for the Hokies.
Conner, who caught one pass last season, has also shown a great deal of improvement.
“He’s done a really good job this spring,” Prieskorn said of Conner.
“Him just learning the game more. He’s kind of a lot of those high school kids who don’t play tight end, they play receiver or they’re getting the ball run, like running back, but him just learning the position as a whole you can see the growth from last spring as an early enrollee until this spring. So he has made a great jump from last spring.”
Caden Prieskorn on Jayvontay Conner
As talented as the tight end group is, it also affords coach Lane Kiffin another luxury — depth.
“I think that’s what we talked about when we say like the different parts of the roster and the goal to be really good is to have deeper positions,” Kiffin said.
“Whether it’s Jayvontay adding size and coming into his second year, or adding an experienced portal player (like Dae’Quan) who I think led the ACC in tight end catches.…So that’s really good obviously, and that’s a key, to me, in becoming an elite team that stays there instead of like oh you have a run one year and you’re back down for two, three (years), — is to have depth like that because you are going to have seasons where things don’t go your way and you get some injuries and some bad breaks and in order to survive those, you better have depth.”
Lane Kiffin on depth
The sheer number of players who can get on the field is also an advantage for the Rebels. Should Kiffin decide to use multiple tight ends in a formation, it will create a matchup problem for any defense.
Ole Miss concludes spring practice with the Grove Bowl April 13.
Steve Barnes
Steve Barnes joins The Rebel Walk staff as a senior writer and brings a trifecta of journalistic experience. As a writer, he has covered college sports for Rivals.com, Football.com and SaturdayDownSouth.com as well as served as a beat writer for various traditional newspapers.
He has been a broadcaster for arena football and several national tournament events for the National Junior College Athletic Association as well as hosting various shows on radio.
A former sports information director at Albany (Ga.) State University and an assistant at Troy and West Florida, he has helped host many NCAA conference, regional and national events, including serving five years on the media committee of the NCAA Division II World Series.
Barnes, a native of Pensacola, Fla., attended Ole Miss in 1983-84, where his first journalism teacher was David Kellum. The duo has come a long way since that time.
He will bring a proven journalistic track record, along with a knack for finding the out-of-the-ordinary story angles to The Rebel Walk.
Barnes continues to reside in Pensacola a mere ten minutes from the beach because he does have taste and a brain.
