Following Lane Kiffin’s comments this week that Tre Harris may be the most improved player on the Ole Miss roster, a senior sportswriter is rethinking his decision to not include the star receiver on his preseason All-America first team.
Bill Bender, a college football media mainstay who works for the Sporting News, admitted during Wednesday’s episode of SportsTalk Mississippi that he was taken aback by Kiffin saying during a Monday press conference: “If we were to vote on most improved players right now from last season, I would put Tre Harris in that group.”
Bender and company at the Sporting News had Harris listed as a second-team All-American, although Kiffin’s assertion that the All-SEC receiver is playing better than ever has the publication questioning whether it should have chosen Oregon wide receiver Tez Johnson over Harris after all.
“When Lane says that, it certainly gets my attention,” Bender told host Richard Cross. “There was debate about having him on the first team over Oregon’s Tez Johnson. You can tell me I was wrong later when it happens – and I think it could happen.”
Bender vouched that major improvements by Harris, who had 985 receiving yards with eight touchdowns while setting multiple single-game school records, would surely land the second-year Rebel on All-America teams across the country come season’s end.
Harris is expected to be the go-to guy for quarterback Jaxson Dart who will also have plenty of other options at receiver, including Jordan Watkins, South Carolina transfer Antwan “Juice” Wells, Utah State transfer Micah Davis, and Ayden Williams, not to mention All-SEC tight end Caden Prieskorn as well as Virginia Tech transfer Dae’Quan Wright.
“[Harris] has the body type and the skill to be a complete receiver. When we put those lists together, that’s a competitive position on our All-America team. Luther Burden, Tetairoa McMillan – those guys are known commodities,” Bender continued. “I don’t know that the rest of the country knows enough about Tre Harris. I think he’s going to have a monster year. Ole Miss has a really deep, good receiving corps.”
Ole Miss kicks off the upcoming season on Aug. 31 against Furman at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium in Oxford.
