Ole Miss Football Star Kewan Lacy Turned Down Lucrative Offers To Stay With Rebels

Lacy made the decision to re-sign with Ole Miss during the offseason, declined offers elsewhere to stay in Oxford.

Courtesy of Ole Miss Rebels Football.

Ole Miss Rebels running back Kewan Lacy took America by storm in 2025 after propelling the program to its first College Football Playoff while emerging as one of the nation's top overall players.

Lacy was one of the best rushers in the country all season long for the 13-2 Rebels - holding a season line of 306 attempts for 1,567 yards and 24 touchdowns.

“You see what Kewan is made of, what this team is made of,” Ole Miss kicker Lucas Carneiro said following the season-ending loss to Miami in the College Football Playoff semifinals.

“It’s the reason so many guys are going to be back next year. We’re going to build on this.”

Lacy will be one of the top returning players in college football heading into the 2026 season - alongside elite quarterback Trinidad Chambliss - where he reportedly turned down more money to remain in Oxford.

“It was a lot of factors that came into it,” Lacy said. “There was a lot of schools, great opportunities. But I just felt like what we’ve built at Ole Miss is remarkable.

"The people we got coming back, we’ve got Trinidad [Chambliss] coming back, the receivers, and then the people we got got out of the portal for the defense, I just feel like we’re building something special.

“I trust Pete [Golding] to lead us in the right direction.”

According to multiple reports, Lacy is expected to earn north of $2 million in 2026 with the Ole Miss Rebels.

Now, with the All-American back in the mix, the Rebels are reloaded once again with one of the top offenses in the nation as the star running back eyes another historic season in the Magnolia State.

"The tug-of-war battle between Ole Miss and LSU for Lacy began as soon as coach Lane Kiffin left for Baton Rouge and officially ended Jan. 5 when the Rebels re-signed the star running back for 2026," ESPN wrote.

"The first-team All-SEC performer enjoyed a monster year after transferring in from Missouri with 1,744 total yards and 24 touchdowns and teamed with quarterback Trinidad Chambliss to help turn Ole Miss into a legitimate national title contender.

"Now they're both coming back for coach Pete Golding to try to build on last season's run to the CFP semifinals."

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