Here’s why the Ole Miss rushing attack will not skip a beat in 2024
OXFORD, Miss. — On January 4th, news broke that Ole Miss running back Quinshon Judkins had entered the transfer portal. After rushing for 2,727 yards and 31 touchdowns during his freshman and sophomore seasons as a Reb, Judkins decided on January 8th that he would be suiting up for Ohio State in 2024.
Fortunately for Ole Miss, it appears the Rebels’ run game will not skip a beat after Ulysses Bentley IV announced his return, in addition to the commitment of Logan Diggs, a former LSU running back. Ole Miss also looks forward to the return of Kedrick Reescano, who will now be a sophomore and was a top 150 player in the country out of the ‘23 class.
Additionally, the Rebels have shored up their offensive line, bringing in some top talent to help in the trenches. They added North Carolina transfer Diego Pounds, Gerquan Scott from Southern Miss, and Nate Kalepo and Julius Buelow from Washington. Incidentally, Kalepo and Washington were 2/5ths of the starting offensive line for the Huskies — a line that won the Joe Moore Award as the best in the nation.
Let’s take a look at each of the three running backs expected to contribute this fall.
Ulysses Bentley IV
The Texas native played a crucial part in Ole Miss’ offense last season in both the passing and running game. The 5’11, 200-pound Bentley ran for 540 yards on 95 carries, averaging almost six yards per carry, while gathering 11 receptions for 87 receiving yards.
Ulysses’ top three statistical games came against LSU, Arkansas, and Mississippi State, where he combined for 32 touches, 247 yards, and two touchdowns. His longest run of the year also occurred against LSU when he took a handoff in the middle of the field 43 yards to the end zone.
Bentley has experience as RB 1, as he was the primary ball-carrier at SMU before transferring to Ole Miss. He rushed for 913 yards in 2020 and 610 yards in 2021.
For his career, Bentley has tallied 2,172 rushing yards for a 5.7 yards per carry average.
The versatility, quickness, vision, and strength of Ulysses will most likely deem him the starting running back ahead of Ole Miss’ first game this fall.
Averaged 5.7 yards per carry 📈@BentleyDoo | #StayInTheSip pic.twitter.com/P01Y70SP6n
— Ole Miss Football (@OleMissFB) January 8, 2024
Logan Diggs
Logan transferred from LSU in the offseason after spending one year with the Tigers. Prior to his time in Baton Rouge, Diggs played two seasons at Notre Dame, where he consistently proved his effectiveness. In 2023, for the Tigers, Diggs finished with 119 carries, 653 yards, and seven touchdowns. Additionally, he caught eight passes for 82 yards, all while being in an offense with Heisman winner Jayden Daniels and receivers Malik Nabers, Brian Thomas Jr., and Kyren Lacy.
Two of Diggs’s best performances in ‘23 came on the road against Ole Miss and Missouri. In Vaught-Hemingway, Diggs carried the ball 19 times while notching 101 yards and two touchdowns. The next week in Columbia, Diggs rushed 24 times for 134 yards. As you can tell, the combination of Bentley and Diggs could make life extremely difficult for opposing defenses this upcoming season.
There were some question about Diggs’ injury status; although, our sources indicate he will be ready to play in the upcoming 2024 season. Last December, he started in the Tigers’ Reliaquest Bowl win over Wisconsin but was injured on his opening carry and did not return. Again, however, we believe he will play this fall.
— Logan Diggs (@logandiggs3) January 10, 2024
Kedrick Reescano: 6’0, 210 pounds
As mentioned above, Reescano was one of the top players to come out of the ‘23 class. He did not find much time on the field as a freshman, but he did contribute on special teams. It’s fair to assume that he now has a strong grasp of how Lane Kiffin’s offense runs.
Looking at his Reescano’s stats from his senior year of high school football in Texas, he rushed for 1,849 yards and averaged 154 rushing yards per game. Now that he has worked with Kevin Smith and adjusted to Kiffin’s offense, I would expect a breakout year from the true sophomore.
Running back room
The Ole Miss running back room is in great hands. In addition to Bentley, Diggs and Reescano, here are the rest of the running backs listed on the Ole Miss roster: Fred McAffe, Austin Acton, Matt Jones, Jason Albritton, and Ali Scott.
Also, the transfer portal window will open back up this spring, and it would not be at all surprising if Lane Kiffin and the Rebels acquired a running back via transfer. (Click here to view our Transfer Portal Tracker.)
For all positional breakdowns and more, be sure to check back with The Rebel Walk. Hotty Toddy!
