Quinshon Judkins: Ole Miss must 'stay focused' in 2023

Quinshon Judkins recognizes how Ole Miss will reach new heights in 2023.

At SEC Media Days in Nashville, the bright, young running back elaborated on how the Rebels can become a major player in the conference this season, and it’s evident it all starts with the team’s mindset in his eyes.

“I would say this year, the thing that will help us the most with keeping the main thing the main thing and not losing certain games. At one point we were 7-0. I think the biggest thing for us is just stay focused and not get distracted by certain things that we can’t control,” Judkins explained.

The star ball carrier doesn’t want Ole Miss to be blindsided by their success. At one point last season, the Rebels were being talked about among College Football Playoff teams, and then the wheels fell off.

While there’s a myriad of reasons for that, Judkins wasn’t one of them, as he was phenomenal throughout his freshman season. Now with a ton of hype behind his name and this season’s Ole Miss team, it’ll be fascinating to see if they can make good on it.

Judkins rushed for 1,567 yards on 274 carries and had 16 rushing touchdowns last season. He also snagged 15 passes for 132 yards and another score. Entering Year 2, he has a ton of potential, and there’s no reason to think he can’t exceed his previous numbers.

Over the offseason, Judkins has been working on a various of techniques to become better equipped as running back. Evidently, some of that has to do with simple knowledge of the game, and learning things he didn’t know as a freshman.

“Just increasing my knowledge about the defensive fronts, and the passing game, and protection and all those things that you don’t really know in your freshman year, and just improving in your second year,” the Ole Miss running back answered, asked about what he’s emphasizing this offseason. “So that’s been the main, big thing that I’ve been doing.”

While it’s been a tumultuous time for running backs at the NFL level, Judkins has his eye on becoming a professional in the future. One of the things he’s recognized that he needs to work on before the time comes is his receiving game, and he’s placing a focus on improving his hands as time goes on.

“Definitely really important,” Judkins responded, speaking about adding to his receiving game as a running back. “Offenses are shifting to throwing the ball to the running backs, and putting them out in the slot, or just putting them out far and deep and just being about to do everything. 

“So putting that in my game, and just showing that I can do that is definitely a big thing for me.”

If Quinshon Judkins can continue to improve and Ole Miss can stay focused, the Rebels will be one of the teams to beat in the SEC in 2023.