Aidan Gallardo
After Ole Miss’ huge victory over Kentucky last Saturday, the SEC granted awards to a couple of Rebels who had big games and helped contribute to the win.
True freshman running back Quinshon Judkins was named SEC Co-Freshman of the Week for the second straight week.
Judkins, from Pike Road, Ala., truly has been a diamond-in-the-rough find for head coach Lane Kiffin. Why Judkins was so undervalued as a recruit in high school continues to be a mystery. Judkins continues to impress game after game, and he has quickly emerged as one of the best running backs in college football.
Last week against Kentucky, Judkins had 15 carries for 106 yards and a 48-yard touchdown run. Judkins is currently second in the SEC in total rushing yards (535) and is first in the SEC in average yards per carry (6.29).
“His personality is very calm, very quiet,” Kiffin said in Monday’s press conference about Judkins’ demeanor off the field. “Personality-wise, you wouldn’t guess that (coming from a player like him).”
Kiffin went on to make an interesting comparison with Troy Polamalu, one of the best safeties of all time and someone who Kiffin was around when he was coaching at the University of Southern California.
“The most unique (player) we had was Troy Polamalu … unbelievable off the field and then the switch would go and he’d just want to knock everybody out on the field and Q (Judkins) kind of reminds me of that off the field. So, it’s really neat. He was raised really well,” Kiffin said.
Another Rebel who had a terrific performance is right tackle Micah Pettus.
Pettus was named SEC O-Lineman of the Week after not giving up a sack and forcing 10 knockdowns with zero pressures in Saturday’s victory against Kentucky.
That was Pettus’ first career start, which is mind-boggling because he was perfect against a physical Kentucky defensive line.
Pettus, a redshirt freshman, didn’t have the opportunity to participate in game action last season. Rated a four-star recruit out of Madison, Ala., Pettus didn’t allow a sack or hurry throughout his entire high school career. Last Saturday, he made his name known to the college football world, and he will only get better.
“To get better, I took some advice from guys like Caleb Warren and (Nick) Broeker and Jeremy James and how they got on the field early,” Pettus said about what he did to improve during the offseason. “I started working out, eating better, extra stuff outside of what is required of us.”
Kiffin had high praise for Pettus in Monday’s press conference.
“It’s awesome to see,” Kiffin said about Pettus’ development as a player. “Not too many times you’ve got two freshman tackles and the guy has to make his first start in a big SEC game and play that well.”
No. 9 Ole Miss (5-0, 1-0 SEC) hopes to keep its undefeated season going as the Rebels travel to Nashville to face Vanderbilt (3-2, 0-1 SEC) Saturday, Oct. 8, at 3 p.m. CDT on SEC Network.
