Game log · Week-by-week
2026 season · 2 games
| Wk | Opp | CAR | YDS | AVG | TD | LONG | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 1 | W 41-38vs Louisville | 17 | 61 | 3.6 | 1 | 10 | |
| Wk 2 | W 41-9vs Charlotte | 13 | 87 | 6.7 | 2 | 28 | Season-high 87 yds |
| Total | 30 | 148 | 5.2 | 3 | 28 |
#5
Kewan Lacy
Nobody in college football carried the ball more than Kewan Lacy in 2025. He scored 24 touchdowns doing it -- then turned down a pursuit to stay and anchor a made-over Ole Miss. The workload is the point.
5′11″ · 205 lb · Dallas, TX · Lancaster
CFB Index 88 · #7 of 326 RBsHigh confidenceReturning to Ole Miss for 2026
CFB Index
A single number blending on-field production (an EPA-based value lane) with box-score output for this player's position.
0-100, scaled within each position's own cohort — not directly comparable across positions.
The numbers
148
rushing yards · 2026
3 TD · 4.9 per carry · 5 catches
2 games into 2026 so far -- Backed by 31 car · 224 yds · 3 TD -- top 1% rushing yards game. -- Best game: 61 rush yds, 1 TD, 19 rec yds, vs Louisville
The play that turned itSwung Ole Miss from 39% to 76% to win.Florida at Ole Miss · 34-24
His career numbers, season by seasonThe story
Nobody in college football carried the ball more than Kewan Lacy in 2025. He scored 24 touchdowns doing it -- then turned down a pursuit to stay and anchor a made-over Ole Miss. The workload is the point.
- Signed as a 4-star recruit to Missouri in 2024.
- Transferred from Missouri to Ole Miss in 2025.
- Named All-America (FWAA) in 2025.
Aura™ · Him Watch
Hype = tape
+16aura tax
Fans rank this player in the 100th percentile of RBs; the tape says
83rd pctl our rushing-value metric (wEPA) RBs · 140 qualified, n=246
— the discourse is fair.Aura — fan perception100th pctl
Production — on-field83rd pctl
n=246 mentions · cohort: RBs · 140 qualified · perception = conversation volume, production = our rushing-value metric (wEPA)
Buzz vs Tape
Fans hotter than the country
His own fans read him warmer than the wider college football conversation does — a gap of 33.2 points in belief.
33.2own fans
0national conversation
Defense was AWFUL but Chambliss carried us to a win. Just gotta keep going 1-0 each week and hope Simmons is ready for LSU. Also, Kewan Lacy and Harrison Wallace are certified gamers. They’ve exceeded my expectations so much since we got…
Also worth knowing:
In Their Words
160 windows · 2026 fan posts
kewan×570.8chambliss×183.0ole×48.4miss×31.5trinidad×80.2
The story
He led all of FBS with 307 carries, ran for roughly 1,564 yards, scored 23 or 24 touchdowns, made first-team All-SEC and powered Ole Miss to a College Football Playoff semifinal -- a true bell cow in every sense. When a transfer pursuit came, he re-signed with the Rebels rather than chase it. The forward stakes are continuity through change: with the program made over around him, Lacy is the established constant, the back an offense can hand the ball to thirty times and trust to wear a defense down and finish at the goal line. The question for 2026 isn't whether he can carry the load -- he proved that -- it's whether the offense around him keeps the lanes open. For a runner this durable and this productive in the red zone, that's the difference between a good year and an All-America one.
His career
He arrived as a blue-chip recruit and played like one.
Lacy is a volume-and-finish back, and the data draws him honestly. The elite trait is scoring: an 79th-percentile rushing-touchdown rate, which fits a back who found the end zone two dozen times and lived at the goal line. The efficiency numbers are more workmanlike -- a 29th-percentile yards-per-carry and a 58th-percentile success rate -- the mark of a runner who took an enormous, grinding workload (a nation-leading 307 carries) rather than a home-run hitter picking his spots. He's also a capable outlet (84th-percentile catch rate). The profile is a downhill, physical, every-down grinder: not the back who breaks a 60-yarder, but the one who gets you the tough four yards on third down and punches it in from the two. Durability and finishing are the whole game, and both are his.
Written by our staff.
20246 games
- Signed with Missouri4-star out of Lancaster
202515 games
The role got bigger.
- Entered the portal
- All-America
- All-SECfirst
Career arc
HS
Recruit
★★★★
CFB
College
2 teams
NFL
NFL Draft
—
Trophy case · Confirmed honors
What the selectors said
🥇
ALL-AMERICA
Named All-American (2025)
1 selectors honored him
🥈
ALL-SEC · 1ST TEAM
All-SEC 1st team (2025)
Coaching lineage · 2024–2026
2 coaches2024–2025
Ole Miss
2026era →
Pete Golding
Ole Miss
Coaching transition mid-career: Lane Kiffin → Pete Golding. Worth noting in scheme + development context.
2026 snapshot
Season context · Team result + system
2024Missouri10-3HC: Eli Drinkwitz · Run-leaning
2025Ole Miss13-2HC: Lane Kiffin · Balanced
2026Ole Miss2-0HC: Pete Golding · Balanced
Where this profile ranks vs the RB cohort
Box-score percentiles
High confidenceBreakout
Elite: rush tds (80th percentile). Concern: rush yards (0th percentile).
Box-score rates (7)
Percentiles versus same-position peers with enough snaps this season, based on box-score rates.
Splits & context
Splits
Per-game splits
Through 2 games: 74.0 YDS/g, 5.2 YPC, 1.5 TD/g — splits start at 3 games.
Supporting cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
Pete Golding
Scheme reads (pass share, tempo, sack rate) need at least 3 team games — 2 games in so far.
Awards
Player standing · 2026
Backup
On the two-deep and pushing for snaps.
Recognition
Roster2-deepStarterRecognizedEliteApex
2026 outlook
In the mix to repeat All-SEC
Based on 2025: #2 of 37 SEC RBs
How the All-SEC estimate is computed
49% estimated, 95% confidence interval 43–54%. Base rate measured from players who finished at a comparable rank in their conference and came back the next season. It is an estimate from a small sample, not a forecast of this player.
Selector Grid · 2025
AP—
FWAA—
AFCA—
WCFF—
SN—
SI—
Career stats
Signature game
SIGNATURE GAME · Week 1 · 2026
W 41–38
vs Louisville
61 rush yds (17 car) · 1 TD
Edged out Louisville at home in a shootout.
With T. Chambliss — 336 yds · 3 TD · 1 INT · QBR 82.7 · 60 rush yds (9 car) · 1 TD · D. Alexander — 5 rec · 159 yds · 2 TD
Signature plays
Signature plays · top plays by |EPA|
The plays that mattered most
- Week 2 · Charlotte · 2&13 · Q2 · EPA +2.79(06:57) Shotgun #5 K.Lacy rush right for 17 yards gain to the CLT40 (#5 J.Patterson; #3 D.Womack), 1ST DOWN
- Week 2 · Charlotte · 2&9 · Q1 · EPA +2.74(10:44) No Huddle-Shotgun #5 K.Lacy rush middle for 9 yards gain to the CLT00 TOUCHDOWN, clock 10:39 #17 L.Carneiro kick attempt good (H: #33 O.Bird, LS: #50 C.Blankenship)
- Week 2 · Charlotte · 2&6 · Q1 · EPA +2.61(01:07) No Huddle-Shotgun #5 K.Lacy rush middle for 28 yards gain to the CLT35 (#1 J.Croft Jr.), 1ST DOWN
- Week 2 · Charlotte · 2&2 · Q2 · EPA +2.07(08:42) No Huddle-Shotgun #5 K.Lacy rush middle for 2 yards gain to the CLT00 TOUCHDOWN, clock 08:39 #17 L.Carneiro kick attempt good (H: #33 O.Bird, LS: #50 C.Blankenship)
- Week 2 · Charlotte · 2&10 · Q1 · EPA +1.86(13:31) No Huddle-Shotgun #5 K.Lacy rush right for 11 yards gain to the CLT40 (#13 G.Willis; #19 K.Schmitz), 1ST DOWN
- Week 1 · Louisville · 3&1 · Q2 · EPA +1.53No Huddle-Shotgun #5 K.Lacy rush middle for 2 yards gain to the Lou01 (#11 T.Capers; #90 D.Russell), 1ST DOWN
- Week 1 · Louisville · 4&1 · Q2 · EPA +1.53Shotgun #5 K.Lacy rush middle for 1 yard gain to the Lou34 (#90 D.Russell; #23 B.Perry), 1ST DOWN. #2 D.Kennedy injured on the play
- Week 1 · Louisville · 2&1 · Q3 · EPA -1.28No Huddle-Shotgun #5 K.Lacy rush middle for 0 yards to the Miss34 (#17 A.Green; #95 J.Donald)
- Week 1 · Louisville · 2&2 · Q2 · EPA -1.27No Huddle-Shotgun #5 K.Lacy rush right for 0 yards to the Lou47 (#3 T.Thompson), out of bounds
- Week 1 · Louisville · 1&10 · Q1 · EPA +1.25Shotgun #6 T.Chambliss pass complete short right to #5 K.Lacy caught at Miss24, for 9 yards to the Miss34 (#10 K.Beasley), out of bounds
Game log
How he plays
Play style
Lacy is a volume-and-finish back, and the data draws him honestly. The elite trait is scoring: an 79th-percentile rushing-touchdown rate, which fits a back who found the end zone two dozen times and lived at the goal line. The efficiency numbers are more workmanlike -- a 29th-percentile yards-per-carry and a 58th-percentile success rate -- the mark of a runner who took an enormous, grinding workload (a nation-leading 307 carries) rather than a home-run hitter picking his spots. He's also a capable outlet (84th-percentile catch rate). The profile is a downhill, physical, every-down grinder: not the back who breaks a 60-yarder, but the one who gets you the tough four yards on third down and punches it in from the two. Durability and finishing are the whole game, and both are his.
Our classifier reads him the same way: does a little of everything without one standout trait.
2026 Outlook
Ole Miss
2026 Depth chart
Projected starter
Running back · Ole Miss
Returning around him
- 50% of 2024 offensive production back (Solid continuity)
- 2 Ole Miss players drafted to NFL
- Transfer portal: +1 net (28 in / 27 out)
2026 Award watch
No preseason watch lists yet (most drop June 15 – July 15)
Ole Miss · Last season: 13-2 (AP #6) · Talent rank #14 · 2026 recruiting class #22
DNA match
Player DNA
Balanced Back
Plays within the scheme — consistent production without a dominant dimension.
RB
His 2025 production profile sits closest to Max Borghi’s 2021 season.
76%match
Matches Max on
Weight
EPA / carry (adj)
Height
Differs from Max on
Yards / reception (lower)
Recruiting rating (higher)
Through 3 college seasons, his career arc tracks closest to Jacory Merritt’s path through Arizona.
93%match
Matches Jacory on
Height
Yards per carry
Weight
As a sophomore, his production profile tracks closest to Gavin Sawchuk's sophomore season at Oklahoma (2023).
Matches Gavin on
Yards / carry
Receiving share
EPA / carry (adj)
Differs from Gavin on
Class year (lower)
Recruiting rating (lower)
Heisman trajectory
Heisman Trajectory · 2026
Peak #40
Peaked at #40 this season.
Background
CAREER HIGHLIGHTS • 2026 Walter Camp Player of the Year Watch List • 2026 Maxwell Award Watch List • 2026 Doak Walker Award Watch List • 2026 On3 Top 100 • 2026 Preseason All-America First Team (Walter Camp, ESPN, The Athletic, On3, Athlon, Phil Steele) • 2026 Preseason All-SEC First Team (Coache...
The backfield · Ole Miss
- #5Kewan Lacy1,567 rushing yards · 2025
- #25Makhi Frazier520 rushing yards · 2025
- #33Shekai Mills-Knight25 rushing yards · 2025
- #28Joshua Dyeno box-score line yet
- #35Damarius Yatesno box-score line yet
2 more on the roster · Ole Miss team page
Stats from CFBD · ESPN · fan discourse. Every figure computed from source tables — not invented. Methodology