Ole Miss running back Kewan Lacy earned the biggest preseason honor in the AP’s latest All-American teams, landing on the first team Tuesday.
Lacy, a junior, has already put together a resume that helped separate him from the pack. In his first season at Ole Miss after transferring from Missouri, he rushed for 1,091 yards and 20 touchdowns, setting a new school record with those 20 rushing scores.
He added 59 yards and a touchdown through the air. Lacy became the program’s first Doak Walker Award finalist and was a second-team All-American.
Ole Miss also had three players on the AP’s second team: sixth-year quarterback Trinidad Chambliss, junior defensive tackle Will Echoles and fifth-year kicker Lucas Carneiro.
Chambliss, who previously starred at Division II Ferris State, took over as Ole Miss’ starting quarterback in the third game of the season and never looked back. He finished with 1,966 passing yards, 22 touchdowns and six interceptions, while also running for 389 yards and six scores. He completed 165 of 241 passes and was named a second-team All-American by AP voting.
Echoles put together a disruptive season in the middle of the line. He finished with 11.5 tackles-for-loss and five sacks, and he ranked third in the SEC with 13 tackles-for-loss and 15.5 tackles-for-loss last year, according to the source.
He also posted 33 tackles, including 20 solo stops, and had one game-winning sack against Georgia. Carneiro finished 8-for-8 on field goals and 56-for-56 on extra points.
Mississippi State also had one player recognized. Senior cornerback Kelley Jones was named to the AP’s second team after a strong 2023 campaign.
Jones recorded 11.5 tackles-for-loss, five tackles-for-loss and five pass breakups in 2023. He also intercepted two passes and broke up one more for the Bulldogs.
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Mississippi State Emerges In Key Transfer Battle Around Josh Hubbard
Tavion Banks is back on the transfer market after receiving an injunction, and the guard-forward from Iowa is drawing interest from a group of programs that each see a different way to use him. Gonzaga, LSU, Mississippi State and Oklahoma are all reportedly in the mix, which makes this a useful snapshot of how quickly a players value can shift once the legal and roster pieces start to move.
For Mississippi State, the appeal is pretty straightforward: the Bulldogs can sell opportunity around Josh Hubbard and a need for versatile help on the wing. Banks would fit into a roster that already has a clear offensive focal point, and the matchup of skill set to role is what has put Mississippi State in the conversation as this decision takes shape. [Read more 🡒]
