Zach Evans has tall order of helping rebuild Ole Miss football's running back group

There have been departures of a singular player from one position that his team feels the effect of, but the Ole Miss football team was really feeling the effects after losing its three top running backs.

When Jerrion Ealy, Snoop Conner and Henry Parrish, Jr. all opted to either head for the NFL or transfer, it left the Rebels running back room without any player who produced consistently during the 2021 season.

Rebels head coach Lane Kiffin and his staff went to work and managed to secure their only five-star recruit of the 2022 signing, and transfer, class.

Kiffin landed former TCU running back Zach Evans, who was confirmed as a mid-year enrollee with the latest crop of transfers to come to Oxford during this week’s National Signing Day.

Despite playing in only six game before being shutdown for the season due to a toe injury, Evans still finished as the Horned Frogs leading rusher with 648 yards and five touchdowns on 92 carries.

That kind of production is what Kiffin is looking to get out of Evans in an effort to replace what he lost from his three runnings backs last season.

“Adding Zach to that room is good because the top three carriers from last year are not here,” Kiffin said on Tuesday. “It’ll be exciting to get everybody in there and give people some chances they haven’t had a lot.

Evans is going to immediately be the number one running back, but he’ll have a room full of a supporting cast.

Kentrell Bullock is the top rusher returning for the Rebels in 2022. Bullock had 78 yards on six carries. Of the true running backs the majority of the other carries were by Ealy, Conner and Parrish.

Rishing sophomore BoBo Miller did have a carry for four yards, but that is it.

Of course, Evans was not the only running back in the latest crop of signees and portal users that came to Oxford. Pike Road’s Quinshon Judkins signed with the Rebels in December and was an mid-year enrollee and will be out on the practice field in March to help add some depth.

In the same breath of talking about Evans and the other Rebels in the running back room, Kiffin mentioned there could be some more action in the portal after spring drills are completed come late April.

“This transfer thing’s not over. Until they figure out how to do this better, you’re going to see a whole ‘nother group after spring ball that leaves places,” Kiffin said. “This is an ongoing thing. Last year, we added a starting center right before camp. You’re going to see things continue to adjust, and rosters adjust, up until training camp.”