OXFORD, Miss. — Ole Miss is banking on Saturday being just one of many memorable performances for Caleb Cunningham throughout his collegiate career.
The sophomore receiver had his most complete outing in Ole Miss’, 31-3, win against Missouri, hauling in three catches for 61 receiving yards (20.3 YPC) and his first touchdown. His 25-yard reception marked Ole Miss’ longest play through the air Saturday afternoon as well.
Cunningham's touchdown came late in the second quarter on a toss up from Trinidad Chambliss to the left corner in the end zone.
Not only was it a spectacular catch, but Cunningham also showed impressive awareness to get his foot down inbounds against a cornerback he matched up against every day in practice during his true freshman season, with former Rebel Chris Graves Jr. in coverage.
“Caleb’s a great player. He’s a great player and he’s got a lot of potential,” Trinidad Chambliss said of Cunningham following Saturday’s win. “We’ve been pushing him all offseason, trying to get him healthy. I know he was dealing with that hamstring injury, but he’s a great player. I got all the trust in him. Check fade and he went up and made a play. He’s a great player and he’s going to be a really good player for a lot of years to come.”
Betting on Cunningham
It’s been no secret that Cunningham has been a player Ole Miss has been bullish on since its staff did everything it could to flip his high school commitment from Alabama two years ago. The former 2025 five-star and top Magnolia State recruit ended up doing just that after visiting Ole Miss during the weekend it beat Georgia in 2024.
As a true freshman that joined the team during the summer, Cunningham showed flashes early throughout camp and the fall season on scout team.
Even prior to being the team’s leader in receiving yards against Missouri, there’s been no doubt in Pete Golding’s mind that Cunningham is a budding ‘superstar’ in the making.
“I’ve seen that for two years. We’ve been talking about that. (Cunningham) was on our scout field, I told you I call him ‘(Randy) Moss’. So I was glad to see us get in the red zone and throw him a fade. He’s really tough to cover, he’s got really strong hands, he’s a size-speed guy and he’s going to get better every week. That kid has no idea how good he could be,” Golding said. “He’s going to be a superstar.”
When much of Ole Miss’ offensive staff jumped ship to join Lane Kiffin at LSU, including receiver’s coach George McDonald, it could’ve been easy for Cunningham to question what the next move would’ve been for himself.
However, instead, he chose to continue to trust his physical and positional development at Ole Miss.
Over the offseason, Cunningham excelled through the Rebels’ strength and conditioning program and put on 10 pounds to fill out his physique.
“I think it speaks volumes for our program,” Golding said of the home grown talents now making in-game impacts. “Not just from a football standpoint, but from strength and conditioning, nutrition and you’re seeing these guys’ body types of guys been here here two years. Size, speed and starting to develop (physically) and then the development at the position. Getting technically sound every week and then getting them incorporated in the offense.
Obviously by (Cunningham’s) preparation and how he’s practicing. I think it’s a good thing, that was my big thing. Stability in systems are important and you gotta recruit really good players and you gotta develop them and guys stay. I think he’s a byproduct of that and he’s got a really bright future.”
Through six games, Cunningham is up to 176 receiving yards and a touchdown on 13 receptions (13.5 YPC). Look for the 6-foot-2, 215-pound receiving target to get more looks from Trinidad Chambliss going forward.
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