Ole Miss is changing the way it wants to use Kewan Lacy, and the twist is simple: the Rebels want more out of him by asking less of him.
That was the message from new offensive coordinator John David Baker, who made it clear on Aug. 10 that he does not want Lacy taking on another workload like the one he handled in 2025. Lacy led the nation with 306 rushing attempts last season, turning that volume into 1,567 yards and 24 touchdowns, but Baker’s plan for 2026 is built around trimming the pounding while keeping Lacy heavily involved.
“I don't want him to carry that ball that much,” Baker said Aug. 10.
“Now, to me, the difference is carries and touches. Is he going to get about the same amount of touches?
Yes. But in different ways.”
That pitch helped keep Lacy in Oxford, even if it sounded like an odd sales job at first. Baker’s idea is to shift some of Lacy’s work away from the middle of the field and into the passing game, where he can still be a problem without absorbing so many hits from defensive linemen and linebackers.
The reasoning is tied directly to what Lacy already went through. He briefly left Ole Miss’ first-round College Football Playoff win over Tulane with a left shoulder injury, then had offseason shoulder surgery. Baker pointed to the wear and tear of 2025 as proof the Rebels can’t keep asking for that kind of punishment.
“Running the ball that many times in between the tackles, you're gonna break,” said Baker, who is back on Ole Miss’ staff after two years as East Carolina’s offensive coordinator. “And he did.
He had to have shoulder surgery in the offseason. My deal is he can't do that again.
The shelf life for a running back is short as it is.”
Lacy didn’t miss a game last season, but the workload was relentless. He had at least 15 carries in 12 games and got a season-high 31 against Florida. He averaged 20.4 carries per game and was especially effective between the tackles and at the goal line.
Now, the Rebels want to spread that load around. Baker said the plan is to use Lacy more as a receiver, which should keep his total touches near the same level while reducing the punishment of constant interior runs. Lacy caught 29 passes for 177 yards and no touchdowns in 2025.
Baker said the message landed with Lacy during the retention push in December.
“That was my sell to him in December, as far as the retainment piece,” Baker said. “Like, 'Hey man, you're not going to have the same amount of carries, but you're going to have the same amount of touches. You're going to touch the ball in different ways.'”
The Rebels have also added depth behind him, which matters if this approach is going to work. Transfer Makhi Frazier brings a physical style after rushing for 520 yards and two touchdowns on 116 carries for Michigan State in 2025.
Joshua Dye comes over after a huge season at Southern Utah, where he ran for 1,676 yards and 27 touchdowns, though he will have to prove he can do it in the SEC. Former four-star LSU recruit JT Lindsey and sophomore Shekai Mills-Knight are also in the mix for roles.
Lacy, for his part, sounds fine with the idea of sharing more of the burden. He didn’t exactly sound worried about the number of carries going down.
“I feel like if the team wins it's a good game for me,” Lacy said. “Just having those extra legs, too, it's a blessing to have a rotation and have other people to go in there and make explosive plays. It's definitely going to be different from last year.”
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