Rebels Quinshon Judkins Earns AP Preseason All-American Status
Last season, Quinshon Judkins was a forgotten member of Ole Miss' backfield that featured a pair of newly acquired transfers. Now, he's the headliner.
Everyone in the nation knows his name, and everyone is paying attention to his encore season in Oxford.
Judkins was named to the preseason Associated Press All-America first-team, as announced by the AP Monday morning. The sophomore from Pike Road, Ala., was the only Rebel selected to either the first or second-team roster.
Judkins made headlines as a freshman with a breakout season in Lane Kiffin's run-heavy offense en route to an 8-5 record. After starting as the rotational back, consistency opened up more than running lanes for Judkins to do damage on Saturday.
Putting together one of the greatest single-season performances in recent memory, Judkins rushed for a conference-leading 1,567 yards and 16 touchdowns, the second-most by a freshman in SEC history behind Hershel Walker (1,616) in 1980. His total marked a single-season record in Ole Miss history in both rushing yards and rushing touchdowns.
Judkins' record-setting year also ranked 11th all-time among Power 5 freshmen running backs, and the most yards totaled since 2017 when Wisconsin's Jonathan Taylor rushed for 1,847 yards and 13 touchdowns.
The accolades continue to pile in for Judkins entering his sophomore season as Ole Miss looks to improve on its sluggish finish of 2022. While there isn't a Heisman preseason watch list, Judkins was named to the Maxwell, Walter Camp and Doak Walker Award watch lists in addition to earning Preseason All-America and first-team Preseason All-SEC honors by the SEC media and several other prominent outlets.
Michigan's Blake Corum was the other running back selected to the preseason All-America roster after a dominant year in Ann Arbor. Last season, the Wolverines star rushed for 1,463 yards and 18 touchdowns in 12 games before being shut down with a knee injury for the Big Ten Championship and College Football Playoff.
Judkins was one of seven SEC players named to the first-team roster by AP voters. Joining Judkins on offense were Georgia tight end Brock Bowers and center Sedrick Van Pran. LSU linebacker and fellow sophomore Harold Perkins led the SEC on defense and was joined by Alabama cornerback Kool-Aid McKinstry, Georgia linebacker Jason Dumas-Johnson and Georgia safety Malaki Starks.
The No. 22 Rebels open the season against Mercer at home on Sept. 2.
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