Ole Miss rounds out staff with receivers coach Jacob Peeler

Published 4:31 pm Tuesday, January 10, 2017

Ole Miss’ coaching staff is complete again.

Former California inside receivers coach Jacob Peeler has been hired to coach Ole Miss’ receivers. His hire completed the Rebels’ new-look staff, which has five new assistants along with holdovers Matt Luke (offensive line), Derrick Nix (running backs), Maurice Harris (tight ends) and Jason Jones (cornerbacks).

The school announced the hire Wednesday after multiple reports of Peeler’s hire surfaced Tuesday.

Email newsletter signup

Peeler will replace Matt Lubick, who was originally hired to replace Grant Heard as receivers coach in December before bolting for Baylor to be the Bears’ offensive coordinator earlier this month. A native of Kosciusko, Peeler will return to the Magnolia State after FBS stops at Louisiana Tech and Cal, where he spent the 2013 and 2014 seasons as a graduate assistant coaching inside receivers before getting the gig full-time before the 2015 season.

Cal on Sunday fired head coach Sonny Dykes after four seasons at the helm. The Bears went 19-30 under Dykes, including a 5-7 mark this season.

The inside receivers played an integral part in Cal’s offensive success the last two seasons under Peeler’s direction. The Bears have finished in the top four nationally in passing offense each season with three inside receivers having at least 40 catches in 2015, a year in which Cal set the single-season school record with 4,892 yards passing.

This season, Peeler helped tutor a 1,000-yard receiver in Chad Hansen, who finished fourth nationally in receiving yards per game (124.9) while catching 11 touchdowns in just 10 games. True freshman Demetrius Robertson was Cal’s second-leading receiver with 767 yards and seven scores.

A product of Peeler’s ability on the recruiting trail, Robertson was the headliner of Cal’s 2016 signing class. A five-star recruit, Robertson was rated by multiple recruiting services as the nation’s top receiver coming out of the Georgia prep ranks. Ole Miss receiver A.J. Brown had Cal as a finalist before ultimately signing with the Rebels.

Peeler helped develop tight end Richard Rodgers, a third-round pick of the Green Bay Packers in 2014, during his time as a graduate assistant with Cal. An offensive lineman at Louisiana Tech, Peeler was an offensive quality control assistant and a graduate assistant at his alma mater for four seasons starting in 2009 after brief stints at Itawamba Community College and Independence Community College.

Peeler will join Phil Longo (offensive coordinator), Wesley McGriff (defensive coordinator), Bradley Dale Peveto (linebackers/special teams) and Tray Scott (defensive line) as the Rebels’ new assistants.