One of the longest running sagas of the disappointing 2024 Ole Miss football season was what was happening with the running backs. The Rebels returned Ulysses Bentley last year, and he was used for most of the season sparingly. The Rebels also brought back Henry Parrish, but he missed the last part of the season after suffering a gruesome knee injury against Arkansas.
Since Lane Kiffin took the helm in Oxford as the head coach, the running game has really been the bread and butter of the offense. However, last season, that was not the case, and in reality it was what really held the team back.
This is something that Kiffin mentioned at SEC Media Days, "Yeah, our ground game was definitely disappointing. That has been something we have done really well over our time for a long period of time is run the football. You know, we weren't able to do that at times that were critical in these losses. All of these three losses we're ahead; two of them we're ahead the entire game basically."
It was a clear emphasis of the staff to revamp the room. The Rebels added Damien Taylor from Troy, Kewan Lacy from Mizzou and Shekai Mills-Knight out of the high school ranks. They also nabbed up JUCO running back Trey Hall, but he suffered a season-ending injury during spring workouts. We are continuing our look at the roster ahead of the season - we tackled the QBs room last, and today we will look at the RBs room.
RB 1A - Logan Diggs
Logan Diggs is the big wildcard for this team. He is entering his second year with the Rebels, but this will be his first year playing. He missed virtually all of 2024 following a knee injury he suffered in the bowl game while at LSU. Logan will now be 20 months removed from the injury and brace free to start the season.
He was a big get out of the portal for Ole Miss, ranked as a four-star prospect and one of the top backs in the portal. There was some hope that he would've been able to recover and aid the Rebels late last year and for a potential playoff run, however it never really materialized. He played only in the Gator Bowl against Duke, making a short cameo with one catch and one carry.
Now it is Diggs' time to potentially be the lead back of this room, and it could be his job to lose. He is an incredibly experienced player, entering his fifth year of college football, and he has a successful track record. His breakout season came in 2022 while at Notre Dame, in which he recorded 165 carries for 820 yards and four touchdowns. He then followed Brian Kelly to LSU and his lone season he took the rock 119 times for 653 yards, a 5.5 YPC and totaled seven touchdowns.
RB 1B - Kewan Lacy
The Missouri transfer is primed for a breakout season. There has been a ton of buzz surrounding how he has looked this offseason. He also provides a very different running profile than other backs on the roster. He is a shifty runner with great topline speed.
Lacy was a four-star prospect coming out of high school and has long been a major Ole Miss target. Reportedly, running backs coach Kevin Smith and Lane Kiffin absolutely love the talent of Lacy. He was poised to pick the Rebels out of Lancaster, Texas. However, at the last minute, he decided to sign with Missouri.
Lacy spent just his freshman season at Mizzou, carrying the ball 23 times for 104 yards. Not earth-shattering numbers, but reports out of Missouri is that he was expected to take a massive jump and was a big part of their plans before he entered the portal and he ultimately ended up in Oxford. Year 2 has long been a marker for collegiate running backs taking a large jump, and Lacy could do just that for Kiffin in 2025.
RB 3 - Damien Taylor
Taylor was a late addition to this team, joining Ole Miss during the spring portal window. Taylor is entering his fourth year of college football after spending his first three seasons at Troy. He didn't play much during his first two campaigns - however, he had a total breakout season last year. He rushed for over 1,000 yards, averaging nearly six yards per carry. He finished with 173 carries. Furthermore, he also scored seven touchdowns. The adjustment to the SEC won't be easy for him, but the potential to make a difference is there.
RB 4 - Shekai Mills-Knight
The incoming freshman is incredibly exciting, and him making a big-time impact in Year 1 can't be ruled out. Mills-Knight also probably has the brightest future of any running back on this roster. However, he was not an early enrollee and will have a big learning curve to go through.
The youngster was a major recruiting win for the coaching staff, and they had been targeting him for years. According to 247 Sports, he was ranked the No. 6 RB in the land and No. 146 prospect overall for the 2025 class. Mills-Knight is a Derrick Henry-type runner, with ridiculous size, but also great speed. He stands at 6-3 and weighs more than 220 pounds. Plenty of eyes will be on him during fall camp.
RB 5 - Domonique Thomas
Domonique Thomas came to Ole Miss last year after stints at Clemson and Georgia State, and was expected to be a depth piece. However, over the course of the season, he developed into more than that, particularly against Georgia where he was really the lead back in closing down that game. He carried the ball a total of 42 times last fall for almost 200 yards. Thomas is a hard worker, but he won't be in the hunt to be an RB1 for Kiffin. He'll serve as a depth piece once again.