Shekai Mills-Knight was ready when his number was called
- Story byNortheast Mississippi Daily Journal, Tupelo
- Shekai Mills-Knight was ready when his number was called
OXFORD – Shekai Mills-Knight knew that if he stuck to his process, a day like Saturday would eventually come his way.
It couldn't have come at a better time for Ole Miss.
Mills-Knight, a sophomore running back who prepped at the Baylor School in Tennessee, was a consensus four-star recruit in the Rebels' 2025 class. In addition to facing the uphill battle many true freshman do when they first arrive on campus, Mills-Knight also had to contend with the fact he shared a backfield with Kewan Lacy, who wound up tying the school record with 1,567 rushing yards and setting a new school record with 24 touchdowns en route to All-American honors. Mills-Knight played in just three games in 2025 – all in nonconference play – carrying the ball eight times for 25 yards.
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Lacy returned to Ole Miss for the 2026 season, and the Rebels beefed up their depth behind him by adding a trio of running backs from the transfer portal: junior Makhi Frazier from Michigan State, sophomore JT Lindsey from LSU and senior Joshua Dye from Southern Utah. Mills-Knight had no plans of finding playing time elsewhere despite a crowded positional room.
"I just fell in love with the Sip since I was a recruit, and I just stayed true to it. And I knew my time would come, so I just kept working. I love everything. I love this offense and the coaching staff," Mills-Knight said. "And I got to see how Kewan took off last year, and that just really inspired me. He's a great dude. Just always inspired me to be great every day, and I just took the things that he did and added it to my routine."
Despite injuries slowing Lacy down through various points of the 2026 season, Mills-Knight logged just four carries for 42 yards over the first seven games, all coming in a blowout win at Vanderbilt, as Lindsey and Frazier took over as occasional lead backs. Mills-Knight kept his head down, however, and continued to work. His moment to shine came Saturday against Auburn in the Rebels' (6-2, 4-2 SEC) 45-15 victory over the Tigers.
Lacy dislocated his shoulder against Texas and was out against Auburn. Frazier started for Ole Miss and ran for 56 yards, but it was Mills-Knight who led the Rebels with 71 rushing yards as part of a 224-yard team rushing effort. He had three carries of 10 yards or more.
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Playing running back at the college level isn't just about the carries you log. It's understanding the intricacies of the offense to an extent where you earn your coaches and teammates' trust. Mills-Knight has done just that in recent weeks, stepping up to the plate in a big way in Lacy's absence.
"There's just so much more to it than running the football, and I think Frank's (running backs coach Frank Wilson) done a really good job with him and JDB's (offensive coordinator John David Baker) had a good plan for him," Rebels head coach Pete Golding said. "But his development at the running back position and playing without the football and understanding protections and route concepts and all the other things that you have to do. Because when you just try to stick a 6-foot-3, 235 (pound) kid out there, they're going to expect you to run him. ... We always knew he could run the football. You could see that. But his development and understanding of the offense and allowing No. 6 (sixth-year quarterback Trinidad Chambliss) and the other guys to trust him to be able to be out there and do what he's supposed to do. … Super proud of him for that."
Chambliss, who finished with 328 yards of offense and three total touchdowns, lauded Mills-Knight for his perseverance.
"I would say his toughness and his mental toughness (has allowed him to play). … I feel like he rose to the occasion when the coaches were kind of pressing him and getting on him and stuff and testing to see how will he respond in those moments in practice," Chambliss said. " … I'm really proud of his toughness, and I guess his mental (toughness) as well, because it's tough not getting a lot of reps throughout the whole year, and then Kewan gets banged up and we're rotating a lot of running backs. So, him just being engaged and stuff, too, props to him. … I'm really proud of him."
