Kewan Lacy staying with Ole Miss, ends expected Lane Kiffin pursuit through transfer portal

Kewan Lacy is a 1,400-yard rusher with scored a conference-leading 23 touchdowns

Ole Miss standout running back Kewan Lacy agreed to a deal ahead of the 2026 season, CBS Sports' Matt Zenitz confirmed Monday night. Lacy is the nation's third-leading rusher at 1,464 yards with an SEC-leading 23 total touchdowns. He was the first Doak Walker finalist in program history, and earned All-America status.

Lane Kiffin and LSU planned to pursue Lacy had he entered the transfer portal with a lucrative offer, but the Rebels locked him up, along with notables quarterback Trinidad Chambliss pending his NCAA eligibility waiver, kicker Lucas Carneiro and pass rusher Princewill Umanmielen.

Kiffin brought Ole Miss running backs coach Kevin Smith with him to Baton Rouge with the expectation Lacy would be a target. LSU returns Harlem Berry in the backfield and added former Utah freshman Raycine Guillory.

Player retention efforts for the Rebels strengthened with last week's win over Georgia in the Sugar Bowl, giving first-year coach Pete Golding and staff more time to assess the roster ahead of the College Football Playoff semifinals.

Ole Miss now return its record-setting 1-2 punch of Chambliss and Lacy under Golding as long as its play-making quarterback is granted a sixth year. 

Lacy rushed for 98 yards and two touchdowns against the Bulldogs last time out and is a focal point of the Rebels' game plan in Thursday night's Fiesta Bowl showdown against Miami. Lacy registered six 100-yard games this season after transferring from Missouri, including a 224-yard, four-touchdown explosion during a win over Florida in November.

Lacy's outing against Georgia came after he injured his shoulder during the Rebels' first-round playoff win against Tulane. He finished with 15 carries for 87 yards and a touchdown in that one, the score coming one minute into the contest on a 20-yard burst. 

The goal now for Lacy and the Rebels is to combat a Miami defense that has looked the part in two playoff games after limiting Texas A&M and Ohio State to just 17 total points.

Rueben Bain Jr. and Akheem Mesidor combined for 19 sacks this season and have largely saved their top performances for the postseason.

"Those two are game-wreckers," Miami quarterback Carson Beck said of the Hurricanes' power up front. "Even just having one of those guys would be a huge impact to any defense. But being able to have both of them has completely changed the course of this season and the way that our defense plays, right? ... Obviously, they've done a phenomenal job, along with the rest of the defense, this year of executing and playing a physical brand of ball, which is a lot of fun to watch."