Ole Miss football keeps adding receiver talent. Why Cayden Lee, Ayden Williams still stuck around.
OXFORD ― Patience does not award you any guarantees in this era of college athletics ‒ especially within a program like Ole Miss football, which attacks the transfer portal with a vigor that few can match.
When one veteran starter leaves, it's a safe bet that coach Lane Kiffin will scour the portal for another experienced option. Kiffin lost one of his starting wideouts in Dayton Wade at the season's conclusion, so he went out and landed a former All-SEC player in Juice Wells. The waiting game no longer works for the likes of Cayden Lee and Ayden Williams, Ole Miss' two gifted receivers from the 2023 freshman class. They'll have to earn starting places by being better than the experienced options Kiffin brings over the top of them.
It's a situation many would run from. But both Wiliams and Lee, known by his nickname Honeycomb, are still Rebels.
"I actually had a talk with Honeycomb about that, because you gotta realize, the stuff we learn in here, it's like the NFL," Williams said Tuesday. "So with guys coming in, it's gonna be like that when we go to the next level. As long as we stay here, learn everything we need to do, compete here; when we get to the next level, it's going to be no problem. Guys coming in and out, that don't worry me. As long as I put my work in, God is going to take care of the rest."
The impact of the transfer turnover has been particularly ruthless on Kiffin's freshman receiver signees.
Less than 10% of Ole Miss' passing production since Kiffin's arrival in 2020 has gone to players he recruited out of high school, with the bulk made up by transfers and holdovers from the Matt Luke era. Three transfers: Tre Harris, Jordan Watkins and Wells are the presumptive favorites to make up Ole Miss' first-choice trio of receivers in 2024.
But the Rebels have made their belief in Lee and Williams clear.
"We're really, really excited about those two," offensive coordinator Charlie Weis Jr. said at last year's Peach Bowl. "They're going to be special."
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It's easy to see why Weis thinks so. Williams was arguably the most impressive player during preseason practices last summer. That didn't translate into many chances on game days, though, with the freshman nursing a groin injury he needed offseason surgery to fix. Lee received more opportunities, in part because of injuries to Watkins. He started the Peach Bowl against Penn State and made five receptions for 114 yards and two touchdowns on the season.
"I'm not saying it's going to happen every year," Kiffin said Tuesday. "Things are always changing. I think we've been very fortunate. Rarely have we ever had a player leave here who we were trying to keep."
Kiffin attributed part of that to what he described as open competitions across the board every year. The best players play, he frequently says.
Williams explained that he's grateful for the opportunity to learn from the veterans currently above him in the pecking order. But his goal is to force his way onto the field.
If and when he gets there, odds are he'll produce. Each of the Rebels' three starters posted at least 700 receiving yards last season. That was among the selling points for Lee to stick around.
"That just speaks for itself," Lee said.
David Eckert covers Ole Miss for the Clarion Ledger. Email him at deckert@gannett.com or reach him on Twitter @davideckert98.
This article originally appeared on Mississippi Clarion Ledger: Why Cayden Lee, Ayden Williams stayed at Ole Miss despite portal adds