Ole Miss wide receiver Dannis Jackson is looking to level up this spring

Ole Miss needed a current wide receiver to step up when Elijah Moore left for the NFL two years ago.

Dontario Drummond started his ascent in an Outback Bowl win over Indiana in 2021, finishing with 110 yards and a touchdown on six catches. Moore opted out of the game. 

Drummond is off to the NFL following a senior season in which he moved to the slot full-time and produced 1,028 yards and eight touchdowns on 76 total receptions. He added 40 yards and another score on the ground. In all, he led Ole Miss in catches, yards and receiving touchdowns. 

“I still talk to him,” Ole Miss veteran wide receiver Dannis Jackson said. “He’s told me how everything goes with the NFL and the questions they ask and things like that. I just try to prepare for that.”

Braylon Sanders is gone, too, opening the door of opportunity for Jackson and others. 

Ole Miss added Louisville transfer Jordan Watkins through the NCAA Transfer Portal, and he’s participating in spring practices. The Rebels are still expected to bring in Mississippi State’s Malik Heath and LSU’s Deion Smith in the summer. Heath is already committed. 

For now, though, they’re short-handed, and Jackson, who played in 10 games with 12 catches, 244 yards and two touchdowns last season, is one of the most experienced returning players. He’s running with the first-team group, and, ideally, he’ll make a year-to-year jump similar to Drummond for a receiving corps very much in need.

“I try to be more consistent; I think about that every day, honestly,” the 6-foot, 170-pound Jackson said. “But I still have some room to improve on that. Just play at a high level consistently. Don’t show glimpses of being high and then being low and then being back high. Stay in that top tier.”

Jackson is a former in-state and four-star prospect. 

However, living up to his recruiting resume has proved difficult so far. He combined for 80 yards on seven receptions (all in 2019) in each of his first two Ole Miss seasons. He appeared in 19 games.

Spring practices, then, are providing Jackson the stage to show he’s ready to take his game up a notch. Ole Miss is four weeks into the spring, and the Rebels, who were 10-3 last season, including their 10th all-time appearance in the Sugar Bowl, will close out with the annual Grove Bowl April 23.

“I think we’ve picked it up pretty well,” Jackson said of the new-look Ole Miss offense. “It could be better, but we’ve got (receivers) down (injured), and the guys who are out there, we just have to keep practicing and keep getting better.”

Another veteran wideout, Jonathan Mingo, is limited due to injury. 

Along with Watkins, Jackson is working alongside second-year Rebels Jalen Knox, Bralon Brown, Brandon Buckhaulter and JJ Henry. Qua Davis and Jadon Jackson are mixing in, too. 

All the while, an dead-heat of a quarterback battle between Jaxson Dart and Luke Altmyer rages on. Ole Miss returns to the practice fields on Thursday. The Rebels will scrimmage inside Vaught-Hemingway Stadium two days later.

“They both look good,” Jackson said. Dart is a transfer from USC. Altmyer backed Corral up during the former’s true freshman campaign.

“It’s not a new offense, but we have some new stuff that we’re doing. Both of them are trying to get a good feel and everything like that, but they both look pretty good.”

Jackson said Ole Miss has been phasing in a number of offensive wrinkles over the last few weeks. 

Charlie Weis, Jr., formerly of USF, was hired to replace Jeff Lebby as offensive coordinator in January. Additionally, tight ends coach John David Baker was elevated in title to share duties with Weis, Jr.

Jackson said Weis, Jr., has added a handful of new plays to the up-tempo style of third-year head coach Lane Kiffin. Once Ole Miss is settled in offensively, Jackson expects Ole Miss to be possibly more dynamic than even last year, when the Rebels were No. 24 in the country in scoring offense, averaging 33.7 points per game.

However, he’s mostly focused on the work. One newcomer, in particular, has caught his eye.

“I would’t like to say anybody gives me trouble, but there are some young guys that look good,” he said. “The freshman corner, Davison (Igbinosun), he’s pretty good.”