Mississippi
Vote for top Mississippi wide receiver entering 2024 MHSAA, MAIS high school football season
Who is Mississippi’s best wide receiver entering the 2024 high school football season? MHSAA and MAIS football fans can decide which high school wide receiver is the best in Mississippi. Now it’s your turn to vote.
Fans can vote once per hour per device. The poll closes at noon on Saturday.
Tyree Barnett, Hattiesburg: Barnett, a recent transfer from Harrison Central, had 1,005 receiving yards with 63 receptions and nine touchdowns, including 197 return yards. He has offers from Central Arkansas, UT Martin and Northeast College.
Jermarj Bell, Northside: The Central Arkansas commit had 1,775 all-purpose yards with 981 receiving yards on 56 receptions, 14 total touchdowns and two punt returns for scores.
Trent Buckley, Columbia Academy: The tight end had 29 receptions for 403 yards with three touchdowns, along with five tackles and two sacks last season.
Jeremiah Cole, McComb: Cole had 46 receptions with 1,012 receiving yards and 12 touchdowns last season, including 210 kick return yards.
TOP MISSISSIPPI WR: Best Mississippi receivers in 2024 MHSAA, MAIS seasons? See our ranking
Zayion Cotton, Grenada: Cotton, a three-star recruit according to 247Sports, had 36 receptions for 636 yards with five touchdowns in 2023. He has offers from Ole Miss and Mississippi State.
Caleb Cunningham, Choctaw County: The Alabama commit is the No. 1 prospect in Mississippi and the No. 2 wide receiver in the country. Last season he set Choctaw’s season records for receptions (48) and yards receiving (1,138) and scored 14 touchdowns.
Deshawn Dillon, Northwest Rankin: The Cougars’ leading receiver had 44 receptions for 660 yards with nine touchdowns. Dillon has offers from Ole Miss, Tennessee and Mississippi State.
Sheldon Isaac, McComb: Isaac had 15 receptions for 307 yards with five touchdowns in eight games last season. Isaac has offers from Grambling and Florida A&M.
Zechariah Jenkins, Laurel: The three-star recruit produced 36 receptions for 603 yards with three touchdowns last season.
O’Mari Johnson, Wesson: The four-star recruit had 43 receptions for 807 yards and 465 rushing yards on 55 carries with 21 total touchdowns. Johnson has offers from LSU, Florida State, Mississippi State and Arkansas.
Micah Jones, Madison Central: Jones, a Florida commit, is the No. 15 prospect in Mississippi and the No. 28 tight end nationally for the Class of 2025. Last season, Jones recorded 168 receiving yards with a touchdown and helped Madison Central go 8-5.
Tristen Keys, Hattiesburg: Keys, a four-star recruit and the No. 6 overall prospect in Mississippi, has offers from Mississippi State, Ole Miss, Tennessee, Texas A&M and Miami.
Aiden Knox, Clinton: The three-star recruit had 178 receiving yards with a touchdown in seven games last season. Knox has offers from Penn State and Toledo.
Anson Lewis, Oak Grove: Lewis is a four-star wideout and No. 12 recruit in the state. His offers include Ole Miss, Mississippi State and Missouri. Lewis has transferred to Oak Grove after spending the past two seasons at Columbia.
Jase Mathews, Greene County: In nine games, the three-star recruit had 25 receptions for 484 yards with two touchdowns and 673 all-purpose yards. Mathews has an offer from Ole Miss.
Xavier McDonald, Morton: McDonald, a four-star recruit and the No. 2 overall prospect in the state, had 56 receptions for 1,166 yards with 16 touchdowns. McDonald has offers from Ole Miss, Mississippi State, Florida State, Auburn and UCF.
Matthew Nowell, Leake Academy: Nowell recorded 1,129 receiving yards with 62 receptions and 13 touchdowns last season and had five games over 100 receiving yards.
Quincy Phillips Jr., Brandon: Phillips had 87 receptions for 1,027 yards with six touchdowns in 2023. His receptions broke the school’s season record held by NFL player Jonathan Mingo.
John Austin Sterling, Centreville Academy: Thomas had 58 receptions for 1,120 yards and 22 touchdowns, as well as 219 return yards. Sterling has an offer from Toledo.
Case Thomas, Madison-Ridgeland Academy: Last season, Thomas produced 59 catches for 1,296 yards, which led MAIS, and recorded 17 touchdowns.
Michael Chavez covers high school sports, among others, for the Clarion Ledger. Email him at mchavez@gannett.com or reach out to him on X, formerly Twitter @MikeSChavez.
Coming off an exciting end to the season that saw them nearly make a miracle run to the NCAA Tournament, the Ole Miss Rebels have now lost a notable transfer portal battle to their heated rivals this offseason, leaving Chris Beard and the coaching staff with more questions about how to fill out their roster for next year.
Mississippi State has landed a commitment from Washington State transfer forward ND Okafor, giving the Bulldogs their fifth portal addition of the offseason. Okafor’s decision to choose Starkville comes as a surprise less than a month after he had announced his commitment to Ole Miss. He originally didn’t even have Mississippi State as one of his original finalists, but it’s clear head coach Chris Jans and the Bulldogs won him over.
By fumbling the commitment of Okafor, the Rebels miss out on a player who has four years of high-major experience and is coming off of the best season of his career. He started all 32 games for Washington State this past season, averaging 11 points, 5.7 rebounds and 1.4 blocks per game. Okafor began his career at California and will now be playing for Mississippi State in his final year of college basketball.
Where Ole Miss Basketball’s Transfer Portal Class Stands
The Rebels have had a somewhat underwhelming offseason in the portal. Beard and staff brought in some interesting portal pieces last year but it remains to be seen how this offseason’s portal class stacks up.
Ole Miss has already landed five portal commitments, though the team has yet to add a true star-studded transfer. The Rebels have Pepperdine center Stefan Cicic, Seton Hall guard Adam Clark, James Madison forward Christian Brown, Saint Jospeh’s forward Dasear Haskins and Pitt forward Roman Siulepa.
As things stands, Ole Miss doesn’t have a portal addition that truly stands out as a potential game-changer for next season. Clark does offer some intrigue though, as he averaged 12.7 points, 3.0 rebounds, 4.9 assists and 2.0 steals at Seton Hall last season. A strong defender and creator, Clark has started all 99 career games dating back to his first two years at Merrimack and will no doubt bring a veteran presence to the Ole Miss roster.
But the Rebels need more. Okafor would have been a solid addition on the wing who fits the defensive-mind approach that Beard is looking for.
It will be interesting to see where the Rebels go from here after missing out on a portal addition to their arch rivals.
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This week on Behind the Lens: “Paraquat and Parkinson’s.” Wayne County, Mississippi is the largest emitter of paraquat in the world, an herbicide linked to the fastest-growing neurodegenerative disease. Environmental reporter Delaney Nolan explains the safety concerns and what they could mean for affected communities.
Theme music by Podington Bear. Additional music includes “Rumor” by Podington Bear (soundofpicture.com) and “Big Yellow Taxi” by Joni Mitchell.
This story is a product of the Mississippi River Basin Ag & Water Desk, an independent reporting network based at the University of Missouri, in partnership with Report for America, with major funding from the Walton Family Foundation.
Music Credits:
Theme music by Podington Bear
Additional music “Rumor” by Podington Bear from soundofpicture.com and “Big Yellow Taxi” by Joni Mitchel
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