Top Ole Miss players not playing in Peach Bowl game against Penn State

The Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl will see the 11th-ranked Ole Miss Rebels and the 10th-ranked Penn State Nittany Lions square off. Despite this being a huge bowl game, there are going to be some players who are not available to play on both sides, for a multitude of reasons.

Here are a few players that are not going to be available for the Ole Miss Rebels:

Top Ole Miss players not playing in the Peach Bowl

#1. Isheem Young, Safety

Senior safety Isheem Young has not been able to get going this season but is entering the NCAA Transfer Portal. He has played in five games for the Ole Miss Rebels this season and finishes with 14 total tackles (seven solo, seven assisted) with a pass deflection.

He played the last two seasons for Ole Miss and the first two seasons were with the Iowa State Cyclones. Throughout his collegiate career, he posted 185 total tackles (104 solo, 81 assisted) with eight pass deflections, 0.5 sacks, five forced fumbles and four interceptions.

#2. Zakhari Franklin, Wide Receiver

Senior wide receiver Zakhari Franklin has been dealing with an undisclosed injury and is not expected to be available for the Peach Bowl against the Penn State Nittany Lions. He has not appeared in a game since Oct. 21 against the Auburn Tigers and in three games this season, he has four receptions for 38 yards (9.5 yards per catch) with a touchdown catch.

This is his first season with Ole Miss and spent the previous four years with the UTSA Roadrunners but has been a star receiver. In his collegiate career, he has 265 receptions for 3,387 yards (12.8 yards per catch) with 38 touchdown receptions. Not having Zakhari Franklin on the field changes the upside of this offense.

#3. Cedric Melton, Offensive Tackle

Offensive tackle Cedric Mlton is a redshirt junior and has found the field throughout his collegiate career. He has officially entered the NCAA Transfer Portal and typically is part of the special teams but has started on the offensive line throughout his career. Losing an offensive lineman is always going to be difficult but losing one who has been a fringe starting lineman is critical for the program going forward.

List of all the players not playing against Penn State

The Ole Miss Rebels have 13 players who are not going to be suiting up for their bowl game against the Penn State Nittany Lions. There are a lot of reasons for players to miss this game as two injuries and 11 players entering the NCAA Transfer Portal make the roster a lot different than it was during the regular season:

Player	Position	Reason
Zakhari Franklin	Wide Receiver	Undisclosed
Qua Davis	Wide Receiver	Undisclosed
Cedric Melton	Offensive Tackle	Transfer Portal
Reginald Hughes	EDGE	Transfer Portal
Demarko Williams	Safety	Transfer Portal
Isheem Young	Defensive Back	Transfer Portal
Caden Costa	Kicker	Transfer Portal
Rayf Vinson	Safety	Transfer Portal
Kyirin Heath	Tight End	Transfer Portal
Jayvontay Conner	Tight End	Transfer Portal
Bralon Brown	Wide Receiver	Transfer Portal
JJ Henry	Wide Receiver	Transfer Portal
Jeremiah Dillon	Wide Receiver	Transfer Portal