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NEW YORK – Ole Miss tight ends Caden Prieskorn and Dae’Quan Wright have been named to the John Mackey Award preseason watch list, as announced by the Friends of John Mackey on Friday.

The Rebel duo are among 48 FBS tight ends and 12 within the SEC named to the watch list for the Mackey Award, which is given annually to the most outstanding tight end in college football by vote from the John Mackey Award Selection Committee. Ole Miss is one of just three programs nationally with multiple watch list honorees alongside Georgia and North Carolina.

Prieskorn – a Mackey Award watch list member last season and a semifinalist while at Memphis in 2022 – was a second-team member of the Coaches All-SEC team after a strong first season with the Rebels in 2023, capped by a spectacular performance in the Peach Bowl that earned him Offensive MVP honors. Despite missing the first three games due to injury, Prieskorn ended the year with a final line of 30 catches for 449 yards and four touchdowns – a big portion of which came in the Peach Bowl against Penn State. In Atlanta, Prieskorn exploded for an Ole Miss bowl game record 10 receptions for 136 yards and two touchdowns and a two-point conversion. In 2023, Prieskorn led all SEC tight ends with 14.97 yards per reception.

Wright enters his first season with the Rebels this fall after transferring from Virginia Tech, where he appeared in 19 games and made eight starts across the 2022 and 2023 seasons. In his time with the Hokies, Wright amassed 47 catches for 574 yards, including season career-highs of 28 receptions for 366 yards in 2023.

The Mackey Award is a member of the National College Football Awards Association. Founded in 1997, the NCFAA includes college football’s most prestigious awards and its 24 awards have honored more than 900 recipients dating back to 1935.

Sixteen NCFAA members are unveiling preseason watch lists over a two-week period as the association spearheads a coordinated effort to promote each award’s preseason candidates. Following is the remaining 2024 preseason watch list calendar:

Mon., Aug. 12: Bednarik Award

Tues., Aug. 13: Butkus Award