Ole Miss offensive coordinator Charlie Weis, Jr. has Quinshon Judkins in good company
OXFORD, Miss. — On television and in the preseason magazines, Ole Miss running back Quinshon Judkins has received a lot of hype heading into his sophomore year.
The kid deserves it. As a freshman, he ran for 1,567 yards and 16 touchdowns fresh out of Pike Road High School in Alabama.
Yet the commentators and writers that are heaping the praise on him are just going on what they saw on Saturdays last season.
Judkins is getting a more-trusted endorsement by someone who is around him all the time. Ole Miss offensive coordinator Charlie Weis, Jr. Weis is in his second season at Ole Miss, but he has an impressive resume of experience. Including working at Alabama under Lane Kiffin.
That is where he came up with a comparison the scribes cannot match.
“I think the best two players I’ve been around are (Alabama running back) Derrick Henry and Q,” Weis said.
“I was with Derrick Henry at Alabama. I actually spent time in that running back room with him, and just seeing how special he was, obviously he won the Heisman Trophy that season, and I think Q is right there with him. (Judkins’) skillset has improved even from last season. The things he can do in the passing game now is really unique. We’re really excited to continue to develop and grow our system around him and find new ways to feature him.”
Offensive coordinator Charlie Weis, Jr. on Quinshon Judkins
In three years in Tuscaloosa, Henry ran for 3,591 yards and 42 touchdowns.
But in his first season, he ran for 382 yards and three scores. Sure, he had a lot of company in the backfield with the Crimson Tide, but so did Judkins with the Rebels sharing time with Zach Evans and Ulysses Bentley IV. Also, Ole Miss threw the ball much more than Bama in Henry’s freshman season.
The Rebels might be throwing the ball a lot this season. Especially with the addition of two transfer wide receivers, Zakhari Franklin from Texas-San Antonio and Louisiana Tech’s Tre Harris, and transfer tight end Caden Prieskorn from Memphis.
“With our offense, I think it can be hard at times for a receiver to play an up-tempo offense with the things that we do, being able to learn the splits, learn the routes. (Franklin and Harris) have a very pro mindset. They come in, they learn the playbook, they know what they’re supposed to do, they’re assignment-sound, and they’ve both got very unique skill sets.”
Coach Weis on Franklin and Harris
With Prieskorn teaming with Michael Trigg, Ole Miss has a formidable tandem at the tight end position.
“(Prieskorn’s) a great leader, he’s a lead by example kind of guy. I think it’s huge for us to have guys who are extremely intelligent football players that can get lined up quickly, know exactly what to do, don’t make mental mistakes. I just can’t overstate how important that is, especially in our system, and he’s phenomenal at that. He’s fantastic in the core blocking, he’s obviously a huge target, got a great catch radius. He’s going to be great for us down the field for us as well to create some advantages.”
Coach Weis on Caden Prieskorn
With the addition in the passing game, Judkins could have a bit more space to run wild in the secondary this season.
But with the dual threat of passing and running, it is safe to say Ole Miss fans will be hearing the fight song many times in each game this year.
The season opens at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium against Mercer Sept. 2.
Steve Barnes
Steve Barnes joins The Rebel Walk staff as a senior writer and brings a trifecta of journalistic experience. As a writer, he has covered college sports for Rivals.com, Football.com and SaturdayDownSouth.com as well as served as a beat writer for various traditional newspapers.
He has been a broadcaster for arena football and several national tournament events for the National Junior College Athletic Association as well as hosting various shows on radio.
A former sports information director at Albany (Ga.) State University and an assistant at Troy and West Florida, he has helped host many NCAA conference, regional and national events, including serving five years on the media committee of the NCAA Division II World Series.
Barnes, a native of Pensacola, Fla., attended Ole Miss in 1983-84, where his first journalism teacher was David Kellum. The duo has come a long way since that time.
He will bring a proven journalistic track record, along with a knack for finding the out-of-the-ordinary story angles to The Rebel Walk.
Barnes continues to reside in Pensacola a mere ten minutes from the beach because he does have taste and a brain.
