What losing Quinshon Judkins means for Ole Miss
Quinshon Judkins led the SEC in rushing in 2022 during his true freshman season for the Ole Miss Rebels, followed by 1,158 yards in his sophomore season. The former three-star running back according to www.247sports.com was a big part of the reason for the success of the Rebels this past season, which saw the team put up their first 11-win season in program history.
While Judkins was passed up by his home state Alabama Crimson Tide, Ole Miss head coach Lane Kiffin recruited Judkins hard after seeing him in person, and the results on the field haven’t disappointed during Judkins first two seasons in Oxford.
Judkins recently announced he is entering the transfer portal, which came as a huge surprise to most of the country, including Ole Miss fans.
While it is hard to look beyond a star running back like Judkins, the Rebels actually have two, so they will be just fine without him in 2024. And Ulysses Bentley IV is why. Bentley was the compliment and backup to Judkins. Bentley spent his first three seasons at SMU where the three-star recruit put up 1,523 yards and 15 touchdowns in his final two seasons combined.
What losing Quinshon Judkins means for Ole Miss
From there, Bentley transferred to Ole Miss to join the Rebels and did not have much playing time in 2022. This year however, Bentley emerged as the clear-cut backup to Judkins. Bentley rushed for 540 yards and four touchdowns this season, but actually averaged 5.7 yards per carry, which was a yard and a half more than Judkins who averaged 4.3.
This combined with the improvement of quarterbacks under Lane Kiffin in their second year, the balanced attack should help both Dart and Bentley. And Dart is not going into his second year, but his third, which should help the Rebels even more-so.
With the departure of Judkins, also look for 2023 four-star recruit, Kedrick Reescano to possibly show up earlier than anticipated on the field for the Rebels, which will help to complement Bentley.
Going into his third year in the Ole Miss system, do not expect the production to drop off for the Rebels in 2024. It may just look different with Bentley being more of a workhorse back.
While most of the country will be surprised if Bentley puts up over 1,500 yards next season, Rebel nation will not be as they saw the talent this year.