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Rebels Wide Receiver Malik Heath Discusses Preparation for Kentucky

Ole Miss wide receiver Malik Heath was made available to the media this week prior to the Rebels' matchup with Kentucky.

OXFORD, Miss. -- Ole Miss Rebels wide receiver Malik Heath has seemingly developed chemistry with quarterback Jaxson Dart since transferring to Oxford this offseason. 

Now that he has adjusted to a new scheme and a new team, Heath and the No. 14 Rebels are preparing to host the No. 7 Kentucky Wildcats on Saturday morning, learning about their defense and preparing to attack it through the air.

"It's the same defense as Tulsa," Heath said. "They play a lot of off coverage. They go man a little bit in third-and-long situations. They've got some of the same guys over there. A couple new players, but they've got some of the same guys I saw last year."

Heath has worked with strong quarterbacks during his college career. He transferred to Ole Miss from the Mississippi State Bulldogs this offseason, and he has been impressed with the development of Jaxson Dart since arriving. 

"Ever since I've been here, he's becoming a great quarterback," Heath said. "He wants to be a winner. When you want to be a winner, you're going to have those traits of growing up.

"On offense, if we all just buy in, nobody can stop us. We've just got to buy in to the system and play calling and go out and execute."

Now that he has spent four weeks of game action in Lane Kiffin and Charlie Weis Jr.'s offense, Heath has not only developed chemistry with his teammates, but he is more comfortable with his assignments as well.

"I'm very comfortable now," Heath said. "Once you learn the concepts and schemes, you're going to get very comfortable. Lane is going to put you in position to make the plays, so I feel good about it.

"A lot of [the wide receivers] are young. Me and [Jonathan] Mingo are more experienced, so a lot of it comes down to experience. Playing in the SEC for a long time. They've just got to get their feet wet."

Ole Miss and Kentucky will kick off at 11 a.m. CT on Saturday. The game will be televised on ESPN.


You can follow John Macon on Twitter at @JMakeGillespie.

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