Ole Miss wide receiver Donte Moncrief caught seven passes for 149 yards and a touchdown Saturday in the Rebels' 34-24 win over Arkansas. It was the best performance of the year for the junior, who acknowledged in July that 2013 could be his last season before turning pro.
Talk of early NFL draft entry quieted when Moncrief posted a relatively quiet September, but since then, the junior has been significantly more productive, with a 107-yard effort in an upset win over LSU, and a six-catch, 122-yard, two-touchdown performance against Auburn.
On Saturday, Moncrief made easy work of one of the more highly regarded cornerbacks in the SEC in Arkansas' Tevin Mitchel. Moncrief caught a short pass from Bo Wallace and beat Mitchel in an open-field tackling situation, then outraced the rest of the Arkansas defense for a 52-yard touchdown (see video).
According to accounts from the press box, Mitchel's day was done after that miscue.
Moncrief now has crossed the 100-yard receiving mark in three of his last five games. At 6-foot-3, 226 pounds, his size is not in question where his NFL potential is concerned. Discipline in route-running is among the few areas of his game that need improvement.
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