Ole Miss RB Depth Takes Center Stage After Kewan Lacy Injury

Some of Ole Miss' running backs besides Kewan Lacy may need to take center stage against Charlotte following his injury against Louisville.

Ole Miss Rebels running back Kewan Lacy (5) warms up prior to a game against the Louisville Cardinals at Nissan Stadium. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Ole Miss star running back Kewan Lacy left the Rebels' season-opening win over Louisville in the third quarter with a thigh injury.

This weekend, the Rebels should have an easier opponent in Charlotte, which leads to some questions over whether Ole Miss will rest some of the guys who were banged up after the Louisville game.

If the Rebels decide to limit Lacy, they will have to dive into their running back room, which has revamped depth following this offseason.

Transfer RBs Will Have To Step Up

Mississippi Rebels running back Makhi Frazier carries the ball against the Louisville Cardinals during the third quarter at Nissan Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Steve Roberts-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

This offseason, Ole Miss brought in transfer running backs Makhi Frazier from Michigan State and JT Lindsey from LSU. Frazier and Lindsey each got seven carries against Louisville, combining for 52 yards.

The two transfers were brought in to take some of the pressure off Kewan Lacy, who had more than 300 carries last season.

Now that Lacy is hurt and may need to take this week's game against Charlotte to rest up before the Rebels face LSU on September 19, this week against Charlotte could be a good time for Frazier and Lindsey to step up and take a bigger role in the offense.

Lindsey is only a redshirt freshman for the Rebels. He didn't make any appearances for LSU before transferring this past offseason.

Frazier is a different story. The junior carried the ball 116 times last season for Michigan State and ran for 520 yards and two touchdowns.

Despite ending the game with the same number of carries, it felt like Frazier was the second option to Lacy before Lacy went down with an injury.

If the Rebels decide to experiment with some depth running backs not used in last Sunday's 41-38 win over Louisville, players like Joshua Dye or Shekai Mills-Knight could see playing time.

Shekai Mills-Knight is a sophomore for the Rebels and has only received eight carries for 25 yards, all against Charlotte last season. Knight was a four-star in the class of 2025 and has been waiting for an opportunity to get on the field.

Joshua Dye brings more experience and production, albeit at a lower level, than Knight. Dye transferred to Ole Miss this offseason from Southern Utah, where he ran for more than1,800 yards and 28 touchdowns last season.

It's still unknown if Lacy will even be limited against Charlotte, but in the case that he is, the Rebels have a number of running backs ready to try to fill the void.

Sign up to our free newsletter and follow us on Facebook and X for the latest news.