Ole Miss tight end Octavious Cooley suspended indefinitely

Published 6:52 pm Wednesday, August 2, 2017

Ole Miss will be without one of its tight ends for the foreseeable future.

Octavious Cooley has been suspended indefinitely for a violation of team rules, though interim coach Matt Luke said Wednesday he expects Cooley to rejoin the team at some point. Cooley, a sophomore, spent his first season with the Rebels as a reserve but was in line for a bigger role on offense as the Rebels go about trying to replace the production of former All-American Evan Engram.

Cooley’s absence leaves walk-ons Dawson Knox and Ty Quick, Jacob Mathis, Gabe Angel and converted quarterback Jason Pellerin at the position for now, though Luke said Mathis may be limited some at the start of training camp as he continues to recover from a broken foot suffered in the spring.

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Knox and Quick were ahead of Cooley on the preseason depth chart, but coaches spoke highly this spring of Cooley’s ability to do a little bit of everything as the biggest player at the position at 6-foot-3 and 268 pounds.

A four-star prospect, Cooley signed with Ole Miss in 2016 out of Laurel High.

Grayshirt for Woullard?

Freshman running back Isaiah Woullard will not start the season on the 105-man roster, Luke said, but he could be added at some point. Luke said Woullard could also grayshirt depending on other roster decisions, meaning he’d have to pay his way the first semester before joining the team in the spring.

Woullard became Mississippi’s all-time leading rusher for high school football during his four years at Hattiesburg’s Presbyterian Christian School before signing with Ole Miss in February.