Ole Miss Week 1 Opponent Preview: Mercer Bears Offensive Players to Watch

Our 2023 college football preview begins continues this week with the Rebels' week one matchup.

OXFORD, Miss. -- The Ole Miss Rebels begin their 2023 campaign with a non-conference matchup at home versus the Mercer Bears in Week 1 of the college football season. Similarly to Ole Miss, Mercer is in the midst of a quarterback competition after senior signal caller Fred Payton declared for the 2023 NFL Draft in December.

According to their official team website, Mercer is entering the fall with four quarterbacks on its roster including redshirt freshman Daniel Schoch, freshman Drew Moore, and redshirt sophomores Carter Peevy and Hess Horne. Peevy took the role at quarterback for the Bears in their Week 0 win over North Alabama.

The last time Ole Miss and Mercer met was in 1911, and the Rebels crushed the Bears on the road 34-0. The two programs have not met since. The Rebels and Bears will kick off at 1 p.m. CT in Vaught-Hemingway Stadium on Saturday. Here is an overview of the offensive players you should keep an eye on when Mercer travels to Oxford.

Offensive Players to Watch

Passing: Carter Peevy (RS Sophomore)

Week 0 stats: 12-for-17 passing, 115 yards, 1 TD 

Rushing: 10 carries, 31 yards 

Peevy recorded 146 total yards versus North Alabama in Week 0 and you can expect even less production from him when Mercer takes on Ole Miss.

Rushing: Micah Bell (RS Freshman)

Week 0: 20 carries, 73 yards, 1 TD

Micah Bell led all Mercer running backs on the ground in Week 0 and was followed closely by Al Wooten III, who registered 50 yards on 13 carries. 

Receiving: Ty James (RS Junior) 

Week 0: 4 receptions, 73 yards, 1 TD

The crown jewel of the Mercer offense, Ty James will be the player the Ole Miss defense needs to watch in its 2023 home opener. James has spent the last three seasons progressively improving with Mercer, but before that, he was a three-star recruit in the Georgia Bulldogs' 2019 signing class. The 6-foot-2, 200-pound wideout was redshirted his freshman year before electing to transfer to Mercer. James has since blossomed as the Bears' No. 1 receiver, setting the school record for receiving yards in a season last fall with 1,105. 

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You can follow Ben King on Twitter at @BKing_2023.