What adding Juice Wells means for Ole Miss offense
Ole Miss and head coach Lane Kiffin, once again, had a phenomenal ability to land talented players out of the Transfer Portal. That included bringing in wide receiver Juice Wells, who had previously been a star at South Carolina.
On3’s Andy Staples brought up Juice Wells to Zach Berry of OM Spirit on Andy Staples On3, wondering what version of Wells Ole Miss will get in 2024.
“The Juice Wells addition is one that kind of depends on which Juice Wells you’re getting,” Andy Staples said. “Are you getting the healthy one who is just unstoppable, or are you getting the one who was banged up for most of the season last year at South Carolina? There’s a possibility Juice Wells might be the best receiver in the SEC if he’s healthy.”
Juice Wells played two seasons at Ole Miss. In 2022, Wells played in 13 games and had 68 receptions for 928 yards and six touchdowns. However, he couldn’t stay on the field in 2023, only getting into three games and making three catches.
Despite that inconsistency, Berry isn’t worried because Wells won’t need to do it all at Ole Miss. It’s an office with plenty of talent.
“I think it’s big for Ole Miss with Tre Harris and Jordan Watkins coming back, you’re not having to ask Juice Wells, ‘We need you to come in and be the dude and catch 10-12 balls a game.’ Now, he very well could catch 10-12 balls a game if people are just bracketing Tre Harris, taking away Jordan Watkins in the slot, but he’s not having to be the number one dude. There’s not a ton of pressure on him to get those touches every single week,” Berry said.
“But, from what I’ve been told by people up in Columbia and around him, the foot is good and I think it’s fair to say that Ole Miss probably did their own research and made sure he was good to go.”
Even beyond the wide receivers, Berry is excited about running back and tight end transfers that Ole Miss has added to its offense for 2024.
“And that’s kind of my thing with Logan Diggs too. Ole Miss signed him expecting him to contribute. I don’t think [Caden] Prieskorn gets talked about enough. He was banged up all last season, up and down. He had some off the field stuff with a death in the family, just incredible to play through that and continue to improve, and by the time that it got to the Peach Bowl, he was unstoppable,” Berry said.
“I think his presence in that offense, along with a guy like Dae’Quan Wright from Virginia Tech, who is an athletic freak. Charles Power and Cody Bellaire loved him out of high school. He was a late bloomer. A really versatile tight end who I think will compliment Prieskorn’s kind of throwback, almost like a Jeremey Shockey tight end who’s big, physical, possession guy who’s gonna get those first downs for you, but Dae’Quan Wright’s a dude that can really spread the field and get out in space.”
Ole Miss currently has the third-ranked transfer class in the 2024 cycle, according to the On3 2024 College Football Team Transfer Portal Rankings, with 17 new players coming into the program.
“So, the offense, it’s crazy to even think the offense is even getting so much attention in the same cycle the defense lands Walter Nolen, Princely Umanmielen, Chris Paul, Trey Amos. I mean, the defensive additions are pretty loud as well.”