OXFORD — To say the last few weeks have been a whirlwind for Ole Miss wide receiver Micah Davis would be a bit of an understatement. But he’s spent a lot of his college career on the move.
The 5-foot-11, 185-pound senior from Atlanta spent last season at Utah State, where he caught 36 passes for 628 yards and six touchdowns and was named honorable mention All-Mountain West. He played at Air Force in 2020 and 2021 and at Iowa Western Community College in 2022. Davis was one of the nation’s premier punt returners in 2023 as well, as his 8.9 yards per return ranked 24th nationally while his 250 punt return yards were eighth.
Utah State head coach Blake Anderson was fired in July for allegedly “contacting a potential domestic violence victim and a witness to the incident after an Aggies football player was arrested, and failing to properly report the case,” according to the Associated Press. Davis said he had a great relationship with Anderson but was not as close with interim head coach Nate Dreiling, who also serves as Utah State’s defensive coordinator. It all opened the door for Davis to explore his options in the transfer portal.
Despite already having one of the deepest wide receiver rooms in college football, Davis knows he has something to add to the Rebels.
“When you look at me, it’s a jack-of-all-trades,” Davis said. “I feel like I could take you on a deep ball, I could take you on the intermediate routes. I feel like I have a very … versatile set of skills, and I feel like it can be used in multiple facets.”
Ole Miss’ receiving corps is headlined by preseason second-team All-American Tre Harris, who led the Rebels with 985 yards and eight touchdowns in 2023. The Rebels also return preseason first-team All-SEC tight end Caden Prieskorn and receiver Jordan Watkins, who had 449 receiving yards and 741 receiving yards last season, respectively. The Rebels also added former South Carolina star Antwane Wells Jr., who was a first-team All-SEC pick in 2022 but missed most of last season with a foot injury.
Davis says he can be a contributor in the receiving game, as a blocker in the run game and in the return game. Despite the stacked wide receiver room, Davis said he wanted an opportunity to show what he was made of.
“I saw the group and I kind of pictured it as, ‘I’m ready to compete.’ I wanted to come compete against the best, play with the best,” Davis said. “And when I looked at the receiver room, I felt like that’s exactly what they had — the best receiver room in the country, and that’s what I want to be a part of.”
Pegues named Chucky Mullins Courage Award winner
Ole Miss senior defensive tackle JJ Pegues — an Oxford native who starred at Oxford High School — has been named the 2024 Chucky Mullins Courage Award winner. The award is given, “annually to an Ole Miss upperclassman defensive player that embodies the spirit of Mullins – courage, leadership, perseverance and determination.” Mullins, who played at Ole Miss, was paralyzed making a tackle in 1989 and became an inspirational figure both locally and nationally due to his resilience. Mullins died in 1991.
According to a press release, Pegues will wear No. 38 for home games and No. 89 on the road with a No. 38 patch on it.
Pegues began his career at Auburn as a tight end before moving to the defensive line. He transferred to his hometown team prior to the 2022 season and has been a stalwart up front, racking up 13 tackles for loss and 6.5 sacks over the last two seasons. Pegues has also played a bit of offense for the Rebels, catching a 1-yard touchdown pass in 2022 while carrying the ball five times in two years.
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