Ole Miss' Dayton Wade is leaving a mark of his own on the Rebels wide receiver room
When it comes to the Ole Miss passing attack it is usually Jordan Watkins this and Jordan Watkins that.
Or Tre Harris this and Tre Harris that.
And they deserve every bit of the ink and hype they get. All earned.
But sometimes lost in the shuffle is the contribution wide receiver Dayton Wade makes in the Ole miss passing/receiving game.
For instance, in the recap of the Vanderbilt game, under the heading of individual leaders, Ole Miss’ SID release had Watkins with 7 catches 86 yards and Harris 1-26, but Wade had 9 catches for 120 yards and a TD and was omitted.
That’s not a criticism of the SID, but an example of Wade being, in a way, the Rodney Dangerfield of Ole Miss football, “he gets no respect.”
Here’s how it stacks up, for proof, on the year.
Wade is second in receptions to Watkins with 36 to Jordan’s 39.
Dayton is second in receiving TDs to Harris, 6-3.
All three have over 500 receiving yards.
Granted Watkins and Harris have missed a little time to injury, but don’t let that lessen the importance of Wade.
“He just makes plays,” said Rebels head coach Lane Kiffin. “Here’s a guy who walked on, earned a starting position and a scholarship and produces. Dayton is one of the great stories of this team.”
Wade is humble about his contributions to the Ole Miss offense.
“I just try to make a few plays here and there and help the team win, you know,” he smiled. “Last week, we came out strong and did some good things early, but we have things to clean up from the second half offensively.”
Wade caught one pass for 48 yards that led to an Ole Miss touchdown that was underthrown and he had to almost go through the defender in a battle for the ball, which he won.
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“I had to slow down and do some receiver stuff to get some separation, but I knew I could get the ball. The crazy part was that as I was falling. I knew I was going to land face first, but I was OK. It broke my facemask, but it didn’t hurt,” he added. “I line up to win. The mentality I feel is that I am going to get the job done, no matter what.
“I don’t care that I am smaller or whatever. That’s my ball in the air.”
Wade credits several things to his rise up the depth chart.
“I have gotten stronger physically and I have gotten great coaching to understand the offense better,” he continued. “If you are in a system for two years, you learn how to find different windows to be open. The game has become easier because I know what to do.
“It takes time to learn and be completely comfortable and we have a great teacher who has patience with the learning process.”
Texas A&M is next, but Dayton said nothing changes except the opponent.
“We have things to clean up from the last game, like normal, and we will prepare the same way we have prepared all year – working hard in practice and studying hard,” he explained. “We believe we are fixing to go on a run and we are preparing to do that.”
Right now, the Ole Miss wideouts are not just a two-headed monster. This prolific beast has three heads and Dayton Wade is one of them.
