Ole Miss RB Quinshon Judkins staying positive, working hard: ‘I believe in my offense and I believe in my coaches’
OXFORD, Miss. — Ole Miss preseason All-American running back Quinshon Judkins and the Rebel offense have not started this season’s rushing attack quite how they had planned, but in order for this offense to play to its full potential, it is crucial that adjustments are made. Judkins offered his thoughts Monday on the ground game.
“Definitely not (up to) my expectations from a personal standpoint — and from a team standpoint as well. There are a lot of things we can all work on all together in the run game, passing game, etc. There are just a lot of things we can get better at.”
Quinshon Judkins
Quinshon was asked how he thinks the Rebels’ ground game can improve.
“I think it just takes more than one person to do it, it takes everyone. It’s a team effort, You can be the best player in the country, but if someone right next to you or in front of you isn’t doing that job, then it does no good.”
Quinshon Judkins
Regardless of how things have been going on the ground, Quinshon is remaining optimistic and has faith in his coaches and teammates.
“I would say more so I believe in my offense (and) I believe in my coaches. Me just being level-headed with the same poise, not getting frustrated, knowing that it’ll come. Just keep working, keep grinding and fixing everything that we can to get the run game going because that’s what our offense is based off of.”
Quinshon Judkins
Head coach Lane Kiffin has indicated Judkins has been battling injury since the Tulane game, limiting his performance in weeks two and three. Against Alabama, however, Judkins got his most yards in a game since week one, as well as his longest carry of the year, for 14 yards.
“I would definitely say that I was healthier this game than I was the last few games coming in with the injury that I had, but I felt really good Saturday,” he explained.
Quinshon was asked if he is frustrated with how things have gone this season.
As Judkins progresses into becoming the healthiest he can be, another challenge awaits the Rebels in the Louisiana State Tigers (LSU) who will travel to Oxford this Saturday. LSU is the 13th-ranked team in the country with a record of 3-1 up to this point.
It is also worth noting the Tigers’ only loss came against fifth-ranked Florida State in week one. Even Judkins says that by looking at the film, LSU appears to be stronger and more experienced than the Crimson Tide.
“They are more physical than Alabama was upfront. Way bigger, a lot of older guys, and they rotate a lot, so that is going to be something for us that we need to change for our game plan and just be more uptempo and a lot of stuff that we need to just change going into this game.”
Quinshon Judkins
One specific player to keep in mind is LSU’s 2022 freshman all-American, Harold Perkins. In week four, Perkins led the Tigers defensive line with five total tackles and a sack against Arkansas in a 34-31 victory for LSU. Number seven could very well be a threat for both the running and passing game of the Rebels, as they ran for only 56 yards last week and allowed five sacks.
Regardless of what the stats read, Judkins’ mindset will continue to persist and move forward.
“That is what you have to do in a conference like the SEC. You can’t dwell on what happened this last Saturday. You fix the mistakes, you fix the things that can be changed, and you look forward to the next week.”
Quinshon Judkins
Quinshon adds that although there are some challenges around Ole Miss football at the moment, this is a situation with which the entire team is familiar, helping them focus on one week at a time.
“This isn’t anything new to me, we’ve faced the same adversity so I think that everyone is handling it really well and we are just excited to go to our new game this Saturday with a new opponent, ready to showcase what we can do,” Judkins said.
Next Up
Ole Miss (3-0, 0-1 SEC) and LSU (3-1, 2-0 SEC) kick off at 5:00 p.m. CT Saturday. The game will be broadcast on ESPN.
