ESPN Reveals One Ole Miss Football Returning Player That Will Be X-Factor in 2026

Pete Golding and the Ole Miss Rebels have have reloaded the roster in Oxford this offseason, but the coaching staff quickly prioritized player retention following the program's College Football Playoff run in January.

Once star running back Kewan Lacy announced his return to the program, there was a ripple effect in Oxford with multiple players revealing their intentions of staying in the Magnolia State.

Lacy was one of the best rushers in the nation 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 told On3 Sports 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.”

Now, ESPN believes Lacy will be one of the top returning players in college football heading into the 2026 season - alongside elite quarterback Trinidad Chambliss.

Ole Miss Rebels Football: Kewan Lacy. — Courtesy of Ole Miss Rebels Football.

"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."

Ole Miss needed a head coach that understood the culture in Oxford with Golding quickly carrying the momentum once he took over as the shot-caller on Nov. 30.

"The locker room is so fragile, as we all know," Walker Jones, the executive director of the Grove Collective, said to ESPN. "This is the ultimate team sport, and there's no bigger team sport than football [with] so many personalities, so many moving parts.

"You had to hire the guy that can keep the locker room and the coaching staff in sync. It was such a unique situation, first of its kind. There's no blueprint for it."

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