OXFORD – Before giving a diplomatic answer as to whether he believed Ole Miss’ wide receiver room was underrated on Wednesday, Horatio Fields took a brief moment to flash a smile at the podium.
Outside noise on the matter was altogether irrelevant, the sixth-year Auburn transfer said stoically. The grin on his face, however, told media what he likely wanted to say: That there was no need to worry about the group that star sixth-year quarterback Trinidad Chambliss was throwing to in 2026.
The Rebels’ top two wide receivers from a season ago, Harrison Wallace III and De’Zhaun Stribling, have begun their professional careers after racking up 934 yards and 811 yards in 2025, respectively. Cayden Lee, who caught 106 passes for 1,623 yards in three seasons at Ole Miss, transferred to Missouri in the offseason. The Rebels’ top returning wide receiver is junior Deuce Alexander, who caught 44 passes for 684 yards last season; no other returning wide receiver on the roster caught more than three passes.
No reason to be alarmed, Fields said. The cupboard is far from bare.
“Whatever preseason says, we can’t speak too much on that. We work every day that, by Week 1, we’re going to show everybody what needs to be proven,” Fields said. “So whatever everybody else says, we don’t speak on that.”
Fields has 56 career receptions for 623 yards and five touchdowns between Wake Forest and Auburn. Fellow transfer Johntay Cook II, a senior who has suited up for both Texas and Syracuse, has 61 career grabs for 822 yards and four scores. Ole Miss also added four-star senior Syracuse transfer Darrell Gill Jr. (506 yards in 2025), sophomore Kentucky transfer Cameron Miller (141 yards) and senior Virginia Tech transfer Isaiah Spencer (194 yards). The Rebels also return a trio of highly touted sophomores in Samari Reed, Dillon Alfred and Caleb Cunningham.
Alexander, who switched from No. 11 to the vaunted No. 1 jersey this offseason, shared Fields’ optimism on the receiver room. History backs up both receivers’ sentiments – since 2017, Ole Miss has at least one wide receiver log 850 yards or more.
“Horatio Fields and Samari Reed are two guys that are kind of flying under the radar. But that’s how we like it, man,” Alexander said. “We don’t like all the hype, awards that are won in the preseason. So, we see lists with our names not on it, man, it’s just motivating for us.”