Lane Kiffin addresses Ulysses Bentley's usage in Ole Miss' offense
Lane Kiffin and the Ole Miss offense have plenty of weapons to use. However, that can mean that some players end up not getting as much usage as expected, which seems to be happening to running back Ulysses Bentley.
Explaining Bentley’s usage in the offense, Kiffin shared that he’s very high on Bentley. The issue is that there are a lot of players who are earning touches and only so many plays in a game. That’s why, to this point, he’s had less playing time than anticipated.
“That’s nothing negative about Bentley,” Lane Kiffin said. “I think there’s some of that in our program. We have a really good roster. I’ve told our players it’s a cost and benefit to everything. And there’s a huge benefit to having all these good players — we’ve got a chance to be really good. The cost is everybody doesn’t get to play as much as they like, and that’s happening all over the place. I shouldn’t say but that’s happening with a number of our players.”
Ulysses Bentley has been with Ole Miss since 2022 after joining the program as a transfer from SMU. Since then, he’s appeared in 22 games for Ole Miss, including all three in 2024. However, he’s only carrying the ball 4.6 times per game this season compared to 7.3 carries per game last season. In the Week 3 game against Wake Forest, Bentley had just three carries.
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“And so this is not anything Bentley’s done and the other two guys have played extremely well,” Kiffin said.“Bentley missed time in the spring and we have great confidence in him and just in that game [Wake Forest] it was kind of pass-heavy and we were really just going. It really hadn’t gone to the third back, which right now he is, so that’s why it was.”
For the time being, Ole Miss has had more than enough success to justify Lane Kiffin’s approach. Ole Miss is currently second in the country in scoring offense, with 56 points per game. They’re also first in total offense, with 692 yards per game, and 12th in rushing offense with 257.67 rushing yards per game.
“The good thing is when you have to make those hard decisions like that and somebody, a veteran player, isn’t playing as much as they like, at least we’re playing really well,” Kiffin added. “The problem is when you don’t and then you’re struggling and the guys on the bench go, ‘We ain’t scoring.’ Or on defense, we’re giving up a bunch of points and the guy’s not playing. So, it’s kind of hard to argue right now. The other two are doing what they’re doing, especially Henry [Parrish].”
Next, Ole Miss returns home for a game against Georgia Southern before their SEC schedule begins the week after.