Skip to main content
Ole Miss

Cayden Lee used Ole Miss’ bye week to recharge — and remind himself where he came from

Ben Garrettby: Ben Garrett10/10/25SpiritBen
NCAA Football: Louisiana State at Mississippi
Sep 27, 2025; Oxford, Mississippi, USA; Mississippi Rebels wide receiver Cayden Lee (19) runs after a catch during the third quarter against the LSU Tigers at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Petre Thomas-Imagn Images

Cayden Lee proved over Ole Miss football’s bye week you actually can go home again. 

Ole Miss dismissed after practice Thursday morning and was off until Sunday. Lee went back to Atlanta to visit his old high school, Kennesaw Mountain, and see family.

“I try to stay the same guy,” Lee said this week. “I knew the people growing up. I’m not a celebrity or anything. I’m just a guy, man. So, just being able to just go see people at my high school. They didn’t play, but I was still able to see them and things like that. Just being able to help around the house and things like that. That was awesome for me.”

However, before he left, Lee and the Rebels got some work in for Washington State and Georgia. 

The No. 4-ranked Rebels (5-0, 3-0 SEC) host the Cougars (3-2) on Saturday at 11:45 a.m. CT on SEC Network, followed by a road trip to the No. 10 Bulldogs, as well as another to No. 6 Oklahoma a week later.

“It was good,” Lee said of the time away. “I was able to get my body recovered. I’m feeling really good right now and I was able to get some treatment done.”

Ole Miss is a 32.5-point favorite over Washington State, according to BetMGM. ESPN’s FPI gives the Rebels a 98.5 percent chance to win, as well as the second-best odds (21.8 percent) of winning the SEC.

RELATED: Cayden Lee joins the Ole Miss Spirit LIVE from SEC Media Days

Ole Miss and Washington State will be facing off for the first time in history.

The Cougars were off last week, too. Notable upsets on the weekend included UCLA over Penn State and Florida over Texas.

“I’m going to be honest, not really,” Lee said, when asked if he watched much football during his time off. “I kind of just try to take a little break away from it. But obviously you see the updates and things that are going on in college football. Some big things happened this weekend.

“We just kept the same mindset. We continued practicing like we had a game. That’s going to help us moving forward.”

Lee, the only returning wide receiver from last season, is fourth on the team in yards (226). He’s tied for second in receptions (12). He scored his first touchdown of the year against LSU.

Lee celebrated by miming an apology to Ole Miss fans for a fumble that resulted in a turnover earlier in the game. The clip made the rounds on social media and drew an overwhelmingly positive reaction.

“I made a mistake earlier in the game,” Lee said. “But you’ve got to have short-term memory, next-play mentality. Just letting [the fans] know that that was my bad and it’s not going to happen again.

“I really, personally, try to stay off of social media during the season. But I know my mom was saying, ‘Oh, I guess some people liked what you did.’ She told me, so that was awesome.”

Lee had his best performance of the season against the Tigers.

He finished with four catches for 70 yards. 

Lee was the Rebels’ second-most productive wideout last season. He trailed only Tre Harris, who’s now in the NFL as a second-round draft selection of the Los Angeles Chargers. 

Lee was one of only two Ole Miss starters to play in all 13 games. He didn’t have a single drop in 49 attempts.

“I feel like we’re really focused right now,” Lee said. “A lot of players are playing really well. If we just continue in this path, we’ll put ourselves in a really good position.”

You may also like