One of the biggest names in Ole Miss football this season is already sitting in the backfield.
Kewan Lacy is the centerpiece of the Rebels’ running game, and the buzz around him has only grown. Ole Miss has built a Heisman campaign around Lacy and quarterback Trinidad Chambliss, giving the Rebels one of the most dynamic backfields the program has seen.
The junior running back came to Oxford by way of Missouri after originally hailing from Texas, and last season he put together one of the best campaigns in Rebel history. He set single-season program records with 306 carries, 1,567 rushing yards and 24 rushing touchdowns.
The accolades have piled up this preseason, too. Lacy is on every major watch list, from the Walter Camp to the Doak Walker, and he also earned All-SEC first team honors. For Ole Miss fans, none of that is exactly shocking - but it does underline just how much national attention he’s drawing.
That kind of spotlight also changes how opponents will approach the Rebels. Every defense Ole Miss sees this year is going to be focused on No. 5 and determined to keep him from breaking loose for the kind of big run that can flip a game. That makes the rest of the running back room more important than ever.
Ole Miss does have options behind Lacy. The Rebels brought in three transfer backs - Makhi Frazier from Michigan State, JT Lindsey from LSU and Joshua Dye from Southern Utah - and they also have sophomore Shekai Mills-Knight, a highly regarded in-state signee from Tennessee.
Dye brings the most production at the college level, with more than 1,800 rushing yards, 10 100-yard games and FCS All-American honors last season. He also spent a season at UTEP in 2024, though his role there was limited.
Frazier and Lindsey are not in Oxford just to watch from the sideline. Frazier is in his junior season, Lindsey in his sophomore year, and both should have chances to help lighten Lacy’s load. That could matter most in non-conference games or in lopsided matchups, where the staff can keep its star fresh for the grind of SEC play.
Mills-Knight, often called SMK, is another name to watch. He saw a few carries in non-conference action last season after arriving as one of the top players in Tennessee and one of the nation’s best high school running backs in the 2025 class. At 6-foot-1 and 220 pounds, he could eventually grow into a short-yardage role and earn more touches as the season goes on.
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Lane Kiffin Just Reopened The Ole Miss Debate Fans Know Too Well
Dr Peppers latest Fansville spot has given Lane Kiffin another turn in the spotlight, this time alongside former Oklahoma star Brian Bosworth. The commercial arrives as Kiffin begins his first year at LSU, another stop in a coaching career that has already taken him through five college programs, keeping his name squarely in the middle of the kind of conversation that always seems to follow him.
For Ole Miss fans, the more familiar wrinkle is what LSU has been able to add in the transfer world. The Tigers have committed two former Rebels who were on NFL rosters, a development that naturally gets attention in Oxford even if their availability remains unsettled under NCAA and conference eligibility rules. In a league where offseason movement can change the temperature around a rivalry fast, this is the sort of detail that keeps the old Kiffin debate from going away. [Read more 🡒]
Lane Kiffin Is Back At The Center Of LSUs Wildest Fight
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The ripple effect has been immediate, with Power 4 conferences including the SEC responding by threatening penalties for teams that add players who previously signed professional deals. LSU, for its part, appears ready to push back and challenge those punishments legally as the situation unfolds, turning what started as an eligibility ruling into a broader test case for how far schools can go when the rules around old pro contracts and college returnees collide. [Read more 🡒]
Ole Miss Camp Rise Could Shape The Rebels New-Look Offense
Ole Miss is heading into 2026 with a very different look on offense after the departures of head coach Lane Kiffin and offensive coordinator Charlie Weis Jr., along with the loss of several key wide receivers. Trinidad Chambliss returns as the centerpiece at quarterback, and the Rebels will need a new cast around him to keep the attack moving in a conference where offensive continuity usually matters.
One of the most important pieces in that reset is transfer receiver Horatio Fields, who arrives from Auburn with a chance to become a major part of the passing game. His role will matter not just because of the production Ole Miss lost, but because the Rebels are still figuring out how the wideout room fits together in this new setup. The early camp chatter suggests Fields could help define the offenses identity, even if the full answer at receiver is still a work in progress. [Read more 🡒]