How Ole Miss plans to replace wide receiver D.K. Metcalf
OXFORD — Ole Miss can't replace D.K. Metcalf 's athletic skill. No team keeps an extra 6-foot-4 physical freak on the bench. If you have a player like Metcalf, you use him.
So with the sophomore wide receiver sidelined for the rest of the season with a neck injury that requires surgery, Ole Miss' objective isn't to find a new Metcalf. Rather, the Rebels have to make the best of the talent remaining to maximize offensive success.
"You don't replace D.K. Metcalf so we're not going to try to," Ole Miss offensive coordinator Phil Longo said. "We'll look at the weapons in the arsenal that we have and we'll use that as best we can. I still feel confident that we have a receiving corps that can go get the job done."
So who does the burden fall on to make up for Metcalf 's absence? A lot of that responsibility belongs to fellow sophomore Braylon Sanders.
A 6-foot pass catcher from Hogansville, Ga., Sanders has 12 receptions for 247 yards and a touchdown this season, including 133 yards and a TD in his one start vs. Southern Illinois. Like Metcalf, Sanders is a skilled field-stretcher, averaging more than 20 yards per reception this season. The only Ole Miss wideout averaging more yards per catch than Sanders? That'd be Metcalf.
Ole Miss wide receivers coach Jacob Peeler echoed Longo's sentiment, saying he has complete confidence in Sanders' ability to fill in for Metcalf. Peeler said Sanders has been practicing with the starters since the beginning of fall camp and he's treated him like one of the starters in the receivers room.
But moving Sanders into Metcalf's role creates a ripple effect. Who then replaces Sanders?
Peeler said that'll fall to a combination of senior Alex Weber and freshman Miles Battle. Weber has three catches this season and Battle has one, but Battle has only played in two games as the Rebels are trying to manage his snaps to keep him within the threshold for a fourgame redshirt.
Ole Miss can also call upon freshman Elijah Moore to play in the slot if a different type of body is needed. But the 5foot-9 Moore is only likely to earn frequent reps in the slot if All-SEC receiver A.J. Brown vacates his role in the slot in favor of splitting out wide. Which is something that's been discussed.
"I don't have a problem with doing that," Brown said. "That's home for me honestly. I always mess around with the guys and do releases and stuff on the outside. If it comes down to that, that's not a problem."
Peeler and Brown both acknowledged that Brown grew up playing outside receiver, so the transition wouldn't be much of an issue. And Brown sits in on the same meetings as a slot as the outside receivers do, so there shouldn't be a knowledge gap. But Brown does such a great job of creating advantages from the middle of the field where he has more cushion and easier releases.
"A.J. has proven himself a mismatch in the slot," Peeler said. "And because of D.K.'s injury we're not going to change what we do. We've got guys that we trust and will get the job done."