Continued questions about Ulysses Bentley IV: Ole Miss head coach Lane Kiffin discusses the ‘hard decisions’ about playing time
OXFORD, Miss. — Ole Miss lost to Florida, 24-17, Saturday in Gainesville, a devastating defeat that really puts a damper on the Rebels’ playoff hopes. There were miscues and missed opportunities aplenty — but there was also the curious case of ‘missing’ running back Ulysses Bentley IV who only played on special teams Saturday at a time when the Rebels seriously needed a ground game.
Head coach Lane Kiffin was asked both in Sunday night’s zoom with media and Monday’s press conference about Bentley and his limited play.
On Sunday, Coach Kiffin said there is no off-the-field issue that has kept Bentley, the SEC’s highest graded returning running back for 2024, according to PFF, out of the game.
“…It’s nothing off the field at all. He’s a wonderful kid who does everything we ask of him. We just haven’t been real consistent and productive at that spot this year and tried something else yesterday (Saturday). So, it is what it is. I’ve got a lot of respect for him. Really appreciate how he’s handled the situation, but this is what happens in coaching. Everybody doesn’t play and you’ve got to make hard decisions.”
Lane Kiffin
When the season began, most Rebels expected to see Bentley IV at the RB 1 spot. However, Henry Parrish, Jr., who performed very well in the early weeks of the season, started over Bentley. Parrish, as you recall, transferred back to Ole Miss from Miami, where he had spent two seasons playing for running backs coach Kevin Smith. Both Parrish and Smith had left Oxford for Miami, and each found his way back to Ole Miss.
Against LSU, Bentley saw his first significant SEC action of the season. In that game, he carried 11 times for 108 yards, a 9.7 yard-per-carry average, and also scored on a 50-yard TD run.
50-YARD TD BY ULYSSES BENTLEY IV 🔥 @OleMissFB takes a 10-0 lead in Death Valley‼️ pic.twitter.com/AXenlRbeTp
— SEC Network (@SECNetwork) October 13, 2024
After Parrish suffered a season-ending knee injury against Arkansas, Ole Miss had a running back room consisting of Jones (who has spent time out with injury), transfers Thomas and Rashad Amos — and Bentley. Against Georgia in a must-win game for the Rebels, Bentley rushed 13 times for 28 yards and scored one crucial rushing touchdown.
Against Florida, Bentley saw not one snap at running back; however, he did play on special teams. Micah Davis started at running back against the Gators. Davis, who is a wide receiver for the Rebels, played in his very first game of the season as a running back on Saturday. He carried 11 times for 27 yards.
Currently for the season, Bentley sits at 213 rushing yards on 50 attempts, a 4.3 yard-per-carry average and has scored two TDs.
Florida game post mortem
It’s understandable that folks want to do a post mortem on the loss to Florida to try and understand what went wrong in perhaps the biggest game in Ole Miss history — or at least the one with the most at stake because of the college football playoff spot that was on the line. And part of that dissection is trying to understand Bentley’s situation.
Most puzzling box score stat
Ole Miss had 35 rushes vs Florida
14 by a QB
11 by a WR
6 by a D Lineman
4 by a RB#SECThisMorning pic.twitter.com/Ua6HUuwFwm— Peter Burns (@PeterBurnsESPN) November 25, 2024
Undoubtedly, largely because the Rebels lost, that kind of ratio will create questions both from the media and fans. As Coach Kiffin has explained, when you win, the questions are a lot easier than when you lose.
In Monday’s presser, Coach was again asked about Bentley and why he was not used against Florida.
“You keep saying ‘highest-graded returning running back.’ I don’t really know what that means. Like I said, he’s handled it really well. If you want to get into ‘highest grade,’ look at average per carry this year. Not saying he won’t have a great game this week.“
Lane Kiffin
Pro Football Focus, at the end of last season, rated Bentley with an 87.4 grade, which led all other returning SEC running backs. Last season, while splitting time behind Quinshon Judkins, Bentley rushed for 540 yards on 95 carries (5.7 yards per carry).
Kiffin was then asked, yet again, about Bentley’s role.
“I never said it was a health thing. It’s just that you gotta make hard decisions when you’re head coach. You can’t please everybody, so it is what it is. If you want to get into stats and percentages, look at the average per carry this year of all running backs.”
Lane Kiffin
Thus far this season in SEC games, Bentley has averaged 4.4 yards-per-carry, which leads the team through seven league games. Running back Domonique Thomas has a 3.9 yard-per-carry average, while Henry Parrish sits at 3.4 yards-per-carry in SEC play. Rashad Amos is at 2.0 YPC and Matt Jones is at 1.8.
Next Up:
The Rebels (8-3, 4-3 SEC) host Mississippi State (2-9, 0-7 SEC) this Friday in the annual Egg Bowl. Ole Miss is currently listed as a 26-point favorite over the Bulldogs. Kickoff is slated for 2:30 p.m. CT and the game will be broadcast on ABC.
David Walker
David is the consummate true-freshman quarterback, first pioneering the position only a year after college freshmen were given varsity eligibility by the NCAA in 1972. In 1973, the left-handed all-state gunslinger from Sulphur, Louisiana started for the Texas A&M Aggies and earned the All-Southwest Conference Freshman of the Year award as selected by the league’s coaches. David is the first college quarterback ever awarded Freshman of the Year in the NCAA. He was only 17, and still holds the NCAA record as the youngest starting quarterback in college football history. He wore No. 8 at A&M in honor of one of his football heroes, Archie Manning.
In becoming the winningest quarterback ever at A&M, David was converted from a dual-threat QB to a triple option trailblazer. The two-time team captain led three record-breaking offenses that changed the direction of football at A&M forever, establishing once and for all the winning tradition that the Aggies had so-long desired.
As a high school head coach in Houston in the late ‘80s, David stationed his quarterback in the shotgun formation, having him reading defenses and throwing hot routes at a time when such offensive schemes were frowned upon by traditional fans and coaches. One of his quarterbacks tossed 57 passes in a single game, which stood as the all-time Greater Houston Area record for many years.
As you can tell from his bona fides, David is extremely qualified as our expert on all things Quarterback at Ole Miss. Enjoy his exclusive analysis only here at The Rebel Walk!
