Where's Bentley? Lane Kiffin Discusses Status of Ole Miss Running Back
The Ole Miss Rebels have enjoyed a fast start on offense in the 2024 season, but one piece who has largely been absent from this onslaught is running back Ulysses Bentley IV.
Bentley was widely expected to be "RB1" for the Rebels this fall after the departure of Quinshon Judkins in the transfer portal, but he has played sparingly behind backs such as Henry Parrish Jr. and Matt Jones through the first three weeks of the campaign.
Did he do something wrong, or is Ole Miss simply riding the hot hand? Head coach Lane Kiffin went into detail on that subject on Monday.
"That's nothing negative about Bentley," Kiffin said. "We have a really good roster, and I've told our players that there's cost and benefit to everything. There's a huge benefit to having all these good players. The cost is that everybody doesn't get to play as much as they'd like. That's happening with a number of our players.
"This is not anything Bentley's done. The other two guys have played extremely well. Bentley missed time in the spring, and we have great confidence in him."
Bentley has carried the ball 14 times for 53 yards so far on the young season, despite being graded the highest-returning back in the SEC entering the year by PFF. That's sixth on Ole Miss' leading rushers list, with Parrish (338 yards) and Jones (165 yards) leading the way.
It's not always easy for a coach to push a player down the depth chart, but Kiffin stated that it helps when the team as a whole is playing well after making the difficult decision.
"The good thing is that when you have to make those hard decisions like that and a veteran player isn't playing as much as they'd like, at least we're playing really well," Kiffin said. "The problem is when you don't and you're struggling. It's kind of hard to argue right now when the other two are doing what they're doing, especially Henry."
We don't get an inside look at the mood of the running back room, but Kiffin claims that Bentley is being a good soldier during this process, making the most of the opportunities he's presented with.
"He's done a good job," Kiffin said. "Played some special teams, and I feel for the players when it happens. Happens all the time in the NFL. He's done a good job, and that's not easy to do."
As a team, Ole Miss has rushed for 817 yards through three weeks of play.
The Rebels will return to action on Saturday when they play host to the Georgia Southern Eagles. Kickoff is set for 6:45 p.m. CT at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium, and the game will be televised on SEC Network.