Ole Miss leads nation, puts 20 on Reese’s Senior Bowl preseason watch list

The Reese’s Senior Bowl rolled out its annual preseason watch list on Wednesday. 

The Ole Miss Rebels were represented by a college-football-leading 20 selections. Five other schools had 15 or more: Tennessee (19), Michigan (18), Oregon (17), LSU (16) and South Carolina. Twenty-six schools had at least 10 selections.

The SEC (178) and Big Ten (121) were the only conferences with 100 or more.

All but four of the Rebels’ honorees are one-time transfers. Offensive linemen Jeremy James and Caleb Warren, defensive end Cedric Johnson and cornerback Deantre Prince are the only Rebels on the list who started and are ending their multi-year careers at Ole Miss.

“I like our group a lot,” James, a veteran Ole Miss starter at both guard and tackle, previously told the Spirit about the Rebel OL in 2023. “There’s a lot of new faces, so we’re trying to figure it out, but we’re going to come together and have a good group.”

Leading the group of first-year transfers is a pair of decorated wide receivers in Zakhari Franklin (UTSA) and Tre Harris (Louisiana Tech).

The others are cornerback DeShawn Gaddie (North Texas), linebacker Jeremiah Jean-Baptiste (UCF), tight end Caden Prieskorn (Memphis), safety John Saunders Jr. (Miami of Ohio), defense end Isaac Ukwu (James Madison) and cornerback Zamari Walton (Georgia Tech).

Each is expected to play a major role for the Rebels this season. Ole Miss is in its fourth week of preseason training camp. Franklin hasn’t practiced yet, however, due to a minor cleanup surgery in his knee. Prieskorn was one of six Rebels named preseason All-SEC on Tuesday. Gaddie, Jean-Baptiste, Saunders, Ukwu and Walton are all already listed as starters. Or are at least in the two-deep rotation. 

Walton was a four-year starter at Georgia Tech. 

“(Ole Miss is) a great fit for me. With Pete Golding coming here to take over the defense and having played against them last year, I knew what they could do and I knew what I could do to help them,” Walton previously told the Spirit, in detailing his decision to leave for Ole Miss in the off-season. 

“I watched him at Alabama and most of the time his corners were in man coverage, which I like. I’m long and can run and man coverage suits my skills. The best players are in this league, so Ole Miss being in the SEC was certainly a factor. I like being able to compete with the best and see where I stand.”

RELATED: LIVE! From Ole Miss Media Day: Jared Ivey, Tre Harris, DeShawn Gaddie and Teja Young

Ole Miss opens the 2023-24 season against Mercer September 2 at 1 p.m. CT. 

The Reese’s Senior Bowl each preseason assembles its watch list to identify the top draft prospects at every level of college football for that year’s NFL Draft. Senior Bowl staff was responsible for the evaluations and selections of the some 720 position players and non-specialists for the list.

The Reese’s Senior Bowl is regarded by some as the preeminent college football all-star game. It also marks the first stage of the NFL Draft process and is the longest continual-running all-star game (74 years). The Reese’s Senior Bowl has had 100 or more players drafted in each of the last three years — accounting for a record-setting 40 percent of the entire draft class.

REESE’S SENIOR BOWL PRESEASON WATCH LIST (OLE MISS SELECTIONS)

• Daijahn Anthony — S
• Ulysses Bentley IV, RB
• Khari Coleman, LB
• Zakhari Franklin, WR
• DeShawn Gaddie, CB
• Tre Harris, WR
• Jared Ivey, DE
• Jeremy James, OL
• Jeremiah Jean-Baptiste, LB
• Cedric Johnson, DE
• Jalen Knox, WR
• Monty Montgomery, LB
• JJ Pegues, DT
• Caden Prieskorn, TE
• Deantre Prince, CB
• John Saunders Jr., S
• Isaac Ukwu, DE
• Zamari Walton, CB
• Caleb Warren, OL
• Jordan Watkins, WR