Ole Miss TE Caden Prieskorn's wife hopes husband will get "more than one ball" in next game
Ole Miss Rebels tight end Caden Prieskorn was one of the players blamed for their performances during the then-No. 9 Rebels' Week 7 29-26 loss to the No. 13 LSU Tigers. Prieskorn registered one catch for 13 yards, continuing a downward trend in terms of statistics that has seen him not register more than one reception per game since the Week 4 clash against the Georgia Southern Eagles.
The tight end's outspoken wife, Cali Prieskorn, made her opinion clear about the service that her husband was receiving. She commented under an Instagram post by the Rebels, criticizing the number of balls her husband was getting during games.
"Hopefully we can see 86 get more than one ball next game," Cali Prieskorn wrote.
After the Rebels lost 20-17 to the Kentucky Wildcats in Week 5 action, Ole Miss coach Lane Kiffin revealed during a news conference that Caden Prieskorn's reduced involvement was by design to get Dae'Quan Wright more touches of the ball.
"We have two really good tight ends that rotate ... sometimes numbers happen not by design," Kiffin said. "I would love for everyone to touch the ball, but it doesn't work that way when you go 1-for-10 on 3rd down."
Caden Prieskorn and Ulysses Bentley IV underutilized by Ole Miss
Ole Miss coach Lane Kiffin found himself facing questions about the role of some members of his team. Fans are demanding more game time for players like Caden Prieskorn and influential running back Ulysses Bentley IV, who performed admirably against the LSU Tigers.
This week, during an interview on the "Inside the Rebels" podcast, Kiffin addressed the issue of whether he owed fans an explanation on why some players were not getting more playing time in a stagnating offense.
"'Do I feel like the fans deserve an explanation because of NIL (Grove Collective members)?' I don't know. I don't know if I've thought of that," Kiffin said. "That's probably a good question. I'm not sure of that. I probably should've thought of that before. I don't know that answer. 'Do they deserve an explanation?' I don't know that."
Caden Prieskorn has tallied 203 yards on 12 catches for one touchdown this season versus 449 yards on 30 catches and four touchdowns last season, showing his declining end product.
Despite being heavy preseason favorites for both the conference championship game and College Football Playoff spots, the Rebels have already lost two games, and most of their problems can be attributed to their offense. Whether Lane Kiffin will tailor the offense to cater to players like Ulysses Bentley and Caden Prieskorn going forward will be interesting to observe.