Ole Miss Football's Caden Prieskorn Looks Ahead to Final Game as a Rebel

Star Ole Miss tight end Caden Prieskorn is looking ahead to the Gator Bowl.

Aug 31, 2024; Oxford, Mississippi, USA; Mississippi Rebels tight end Caden Prieskorn (86) reacts after a touchdown catch against the Furman Paladins during the first half at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Petre Thomas-Imagn Images / Petre Thomas-Imagn Images

Ole Miss football is set to play its last game of the 2024 campaign in roughly two weeks. For many on the team, it will be their last game in an Ole Miss uniform.

Rebels star tight end Caden Prieskorn is among that number.

The senior from Lake Orion, Michigan, has hauled in 64 receptions for 824 yards and seven touchdowns during the two seasons he's been in Oxford, a productive two-year stretch that will be coming to an end after the Gator Bowl on Jan. 2.

"I'm just going to enjoy it, enjoy being around my brothers and everybody in this building," Prieskorn said in a press conference on Wednesday. "It's the last time we can go out and show everybody who we are as a team, and I can't wait."

Prieskorn transferred to Ole Miss from Memphis prior to the 2023 season, and his path in college football has been a winding one with plenty of victories and emotional setbacks. That road will come to a close in the Gator Bowl, but the Rebel tight end counts himself blessed because of all that he's experienced.

"It's kind of been pretty crazy. It's been a pretty cool journey with a lot of ups and downs," Prieskorn said. "Being a walk-on, working your way up, transferring, getting hurt, losing my dad, it's been such an up-and-down roller coaster.

"I'm so thankful for everybody in this building and everybody I've come across throughout my journey in college football. I'm just blessed."

Prieskorn is just one of many Rebels who had an opportunity to opt out of this bowl game and focus on their professional futures but chose not to. Instead, they have a motivating factor in mind when they take the field against Duke in a couple of weeks.

"We have a chance to get 10 wins," Prieskorn said. "If we win this game, we'll be over 20 wins here in two years. That's hard to do in college football these days with the transfer portal and new guys here each and every year."

Kickoff in the Gator Bowl is set for 6:30 p.m. CT on Jan. 2, and the game will be televised on ESPN.