Ole Miss star running back Quinshon Judkins plans to enter the transfer portal, A program source confirmed to The Athletic. Here's what you need to know:
- Judkins, the 2022 SEC Freshman of the Year and an All-SEC selection this year, has rushed for 2,723 yards and scored 34 touchdowns in two seasons with the Rebels.
- His 1,158 rushing yards on 271 carries this season trailed only Missouri's Cody Schrader in the SEC.
- Ole Miss won 11 games for the first time in school history this fall, capped by a 38-25 victory over Penn State in the Peach Bowl.
What it means for Ole Miss
The Rebels have made a strong push to compete in the expanded College Football Playoff in 2024 and have a team ready to add coveted players like Walter Nolen (Texas A&M), Antwane Wells Jr. (South Carolina) and Princely Umanmielen ( Florida) added many of its best players returning after an 11-win season. From that standpoint, it would certainly be a surprise if Judkins left. He would be poised to put together an All-America season at Ole Miss in 2024 and leave as an early NFL draft pick. Instead, he'll go to the market and see if he can find an even better situation.
If Judkins actually leaves, his top backup Ulysses Bentley IV, who himself transferred from SMU earlier, could return as a sixth-grader. Bentley accounted for 899 all-purpose yards and five touchdowns this season. Of course, it's important to remember that Judkins came in as a three-star recruit and surpassed a touted transfer in Zach Evans to become the Rebels' star in 2022. Lane Kiffin can find another back, either on his roster or in the portal next year. But players as talented as Judkins are difficult to replace. — Max Olson, national college football writer
How desirable will Judkins be?
There's no question that Judkins will immediately be the best offensive player available in the portal when he officially arrives. It's rare to see offensive playmakers of his caliber enter the portal – first-round pick Jordan Addison, who is transferring from Pitt to USC, comes to mind – and they usually renegotiate with their school's team for more zero money before it happens. Judkins had to make this decision now to meet the deadline for SEC players to transfer to other SEC schools. We'll see if the Alabama native wants to go home or is more focused on securing the best deal he can get. If the going rate for top transfer quarterbacks is $1 million to $2 million, as some coaches have suggested, then Judkins is one of the rare players who could command that much money as a free agent. –Olson
(Photo: Todd Kirkland/Getty Images)