OXFORD — It took one name for Ole Miss junior tight end Dae’Quan Wright to know Oxford was the place he needed to be.
Lane Kiffin.
Wright began his career at Virginia Tech and caught 47 passes for 574 yards over two seasons. The 6-foot-4, 255-pounder from Perry, Georgia, entered the transfer portal in November and was ranked as a four-star transfer, according to 247Sports. When it came time for Wright to choose his next school, Kiffin’s previous work with tight ends immediately caught his attention.
The Rebels currently have senior Caden Prieskorn, the offensive MVP of the Peach Bowl and a preseason first-team All-SEC selection. During his time as offensive coordinator at Alabama, Kiffin coached first-round pick O.J. Howard. When he got to FAU, he coached Harrison Bryant, who won the John Mackey Award as the nation’s best tight end and was a fourth-round pick of the Cleveland Browns in 2020. At Ole Miss, Kiffin oversaw the development of Kenny Yeboah — who had nearly as many receiving yards in his one year with the Rebels (524) as he did in four seasons at Temple (538) — and helped Prieskorn emerge as a second-team All-SEC pick in 2023, his first season with the Rebels after transferring from Memphis. Prieskorn missed the first three games of the season due to injury but had multiple receptions in each of the Rebels’ last five games and caught all four of his touchdowns over the last three games.
That track record of success said more than enough to Wright, who had a career-best 77 yards receiving last season against Purdue and caught a combined 11 passes for 164 yards over his last three games with the Hokies. Kiffin puts tight ends in a “great position,” Wright said.
“What (Kiffin) did with tight ends and stuff like that, it’s really him and how he used them. I watched Caden go crazy in the bowl game, how he was used,” Wright said. “ … That kind of got my attention.”
According to Pro Football Focus, Prieskorn had a receiving grade of 70.5, which was 47th among qualifying tight ends. Wright ranked 31st in that category. Wright said he was never deterred by Ole Miss already having an established tight end. Instead, he saw an opportunity to complement what Prieskorn already brings to the table. Prieskorn caught a career-high 10 passes for 136 yards and two touchdowns in the Rebels’ 38-25 win over Penn State in the Peach Bowl.
“With Caden being here, it didn’t really bother me,” Wright said. “Because two tight ends, it’s kind of scary in our offense.”
Wright said he can line up at receiver and help spread things out while Prieskorn’s ability to block are an ideal yin and yang. Prieskorn had 361 run blocking snaps last season according to PFF, which was seventh on the Rebels. Wright had 184 such snaps.
“His blocking ability, my ability to run routes, my speed, stuff like that,” Wright said. “ … I just feel like that complements each other.”
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