Within the last year, Parkland High School graduate Kenny Yeboah has made a few difficult decisions. The former Trojans football star graduated from Temple University last year and still had a year of football eligibility left.

Yeboah committed to Baylor University in Texas, which at the time was coached by his former head coach at Temple, Matt Rhule. When Rhule left for a job in the NFL, Yeboah took a step back and considered other schools.

Former NFL and longtime college head coach Lane Kiffin reached out, and Yeboah to committed to the offensive guru and his program at the University of Mississippi.

“I took the visit to Ole Miss and it didn’t take long for me to make the decision to commit,” said Yeboah. “The campus and culture of the people around the program and community was great. Everyone was welcoming and friendly. I knew I could better myself here.”

The Rebels are a member of the Southeastern Conference, which is arguably the top conference in Division I year in and year out. Three of the last five NCAA champions reside in the SEC.

Yeboah has flashed since day one. He is second on the team with 19 receptions and 438 yards. His four touchdowns rank first on the Rebels.

“The year has been going well,” Yeboah said. “All of the coaches, players and staff have been fantastic and very helpful. It’s the SEC. We’re playing at a high level and I’m really enjoying the competitiveness of every game, every week. People in this conference are bigger, stronger and more athletic. You have to be on top of your game every week.

“Our goals are just to win every game. If we work hard and play our game we can win each week. We’ve been in every game, but had some tough luck. I’ll begin to look into my future once the season is over.”

Before arriving in Oxford, Miss., Yeboah had a standout, four-year career in Philadelphia. He appeared in 38 career games at Temple from 2016-19, including 11 starts at tight end. Yeboah hauled in 47 catches for 538 yards and six touchdowns over his four years with the Owls.

“It meant a lot to me to have coach Rhule and his assistants recruit me out of high school,” Yeboah said. “Temple was the main school coming out of high school that showed me a lot of love. Coach Rhule and his assistants helped me get my career going and become a better player. They helped ease my transition to tight end and improve my game.”

Yeboah began workouts and classes at Ole Miss this past January. His time in the new environment did not last long as COVID-19 forced activities to shut down.

Like most athletes, Yeboah did not want to sit around. He wanted to get better.

“I was able to better myself by working on my route running over quarantine,” said Yeboah. “I did drills to get off of press coverage and improve my strength with going up against linebackers. I mainly focused on the receiving aspect of my game.”

While at Parkland, Yeboah was a two-year letter winner in both football and basketball. He put up big numbers on the gridiron, holding school records for receptions in a season (72), career receptions (119), and receiving touchdowns in a season (14). Yeboah was the first player in program history to top 1,000 receiving yards in a season. He earned all-state, all-area and all-league honors as a senior after hauling in 72 passes for 1,160 yards and 14 scores. Yeboah also bettered himself in the classroom while at Parkland.

“The education at Parkland is one of the best in the state,” said Yeboah. “The athletic teams are some of the best as well. We competed for league, district and state championships in almost every sport, every year. There are just great people overall there at the school and really helped prepare me to be successful in college and life in general.”

Yeboah earned his bachelor’s degree in advertising at Temple. He plans to receive a master’s degree in health professions from Ole Miss.

The Rebels are currently 1-4 overall. Two of their losses came against top-five teams in the nation in Florida and Alabama. Ole Miss has five games remaining, including a road tilt at Vanderbilt this Saturday.