Ole Miss is heading into a new era on offense, but Kewan Lacy isn’t sounding the alarm about the Rebels’ receiver room.
That matters because the conversation around this team has shifted fast. A year after a College Football Playoff appearance, Ole Miss is now under first-year head coach Pete Golding, and the changes are already front and center as the Rebels go through SEC Media Days in Tampa, Florida.
Lacy, one of the players representing Ole Miss this week, was asked about the revamped group at wide receiver. His answer pointed to a unit that may have more answers than questions.
“Kewan Lacy isn’t worried about Ole Miss’ rebuilt receiver room. “Deuce Alexander... the best is still ahead for him.
Johntay Cook is an explosive player. Horatio is a big target.
He’s going to be one of our key players.”🔗 https://t.co/8iXUmTSGUY pic.twitter.com/DKzS1RMK47”
Deuce Alexander is one of the familiar faces in the mix. He was with the Rebels in 2025 and is now back as a redshirt junior looking to take another step. In his first season with Ole Miss, Alexander caught 44 passes for 684 yards and two touchdowns, while averaging 15.5 yards per reception.
Lacy also singled out Johntay Cook II, the Syracuse transfer who spent his first two college seasons at Texas before moving on to the Orange last year. Cook’s junior season was his best yet, as he finished with 45 receptions, 549 receiving yards and two touchdowns.
After a quiet start to his college career with the Longhorns, Cook showed last season that he can be a real factor in the passing game.
Ole Miss does have a headliner on offense in Lacy, who teams with quarterback Trinidad Chambliss to form what the Rebels believe is the most dynamic offensive duo in college football. But if this group is going to reach another level, the wideouts will have to do their part right away.
Golding and his staff added solid pieces through the transfer portal, and now the question is whether that work will be enough to get the offense back to the level it hit a season ago.
In Other News...
Pete Golding Just Sent Ole Miss Fans A Telling Message
Pete Golding has been settling into his role as Ole Miss head coach in more ways than one. After being promoted when Lane Kiffin left for LSU in November 2025, Golding has already made himself at home in Oxford, including buying one of Kiffins former houses. It is the kind of detail that says plenty about how quickly the program has moved into a new era, even after Ole Miss kept winning through the postseason and reached the Fiesta Bowl.
Golding also has been visible away from the football facility, recently showing up at a fan event in Memphis with quarterback Trinidad Chambliss and offensive lineman Patrick Kutas. For a coach still putting his own stamp on the job, those small public moments matter, especially in a place where the fan base is watching closely to see how the transition feels and how much of the old identity carries over. The house purchase may have been the most eye-catching part, but the broader message is that Golding is not treating this like a temporary stop. [Read more 🡒]
Ole Miss Fixed A Lot This Offseason But One Concern Still Lingers
Ole Miss spent the offseason trying to make the roster sturdier for 2026, leaning on the transfer portal to add bodies and balance across the depth chart. Pete Goldings staff wanted more players who could step into starting roles or at least handle meaningful rotation work, a move designed to keep the same core names from carrying so much of the load again.
Even with those fixes in place, one part of the offense still feels unsettled heading into tougher competition. The Rebels have enough proven pieces elsewhere to feel better about their overall depth, but the wide receiver group remains the spot where the most questions linger, and how quickly the new faces settle in could shape how far this team can go. [Read more 🡒]
Pete Golding Sends Ole Miss A Clear Message Before LSU
SEC Media Days gave Pete Golding a chance to reset the conversation around Ole Miss, and the message was simple enough: the Rebels cannot afford to live in the past. With questions still lingering about Lane Kiffin and the way last season ended, Golding pointed back to the grind of the schedule and the need to handle each opponent on its own terms, especially with LSU looming in week three.
The backdrop matters because Ole Miss has already seen how one or two slips can reshape a season, with losses to Kentucky and Florida helping knock the Rebels out of the College Football Playoff picture. Goldings point was less about revisiting old frustrations than about avoiding them, and for a team with bigger goals, the challenge now is keeping its attention fixed on the next game instead of the noise that tends to follow. [Read more 🡒]