NEWYou can now listen to Pakinomist articles!
The Ole Miss Rebels may have had their best season in program history, but it still wasn’t a success for Kewan Lacy.
“I judge it based on that — that the ultimate prize was not won,” the star runner told Pakinomist Digital in a recent interview.
In any case, though, the Rebels were able to get through the distraction and failure that was Lane Kiffin leaving Oxford to join LSU just before the playoffs started. At any point in the postseason, the team had no idea which assistants would be on the sidelines as many of them joined Kiffin at LSU.
CLICK HERE FOR MORE SPORTS COVERAGE ON Pakinomist
Kewan Lacy of the Mississippi Rebels tries to run past Cale Williams of the Citadel Bulldogs during the first quarter at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium in Oxford, Mississippi on Nov. 8, 2025. (Jason Clark/Getty Images)
“We still came up short in the season. The main goal is to get to the national title. But we never really let the outside noise get to us. We just tried to focus on one game at a time,” Lacy added.
“It’s part of football now. There’s a business aspect to it, so everybody’s got to do what they’ve got to do. But I feel like we’ve just got to go out there and do what we’re supposed to do, because at the end of the day, we’re on the field playing football, whether our coaches are there or not, or whatever the circumstances, you’ve still got to go out there and play football. So, I just feel like we got there last, and I feel like we got there last. Compete.”
Hoping for a national title, Lacy will wear the Q-Collar, the first and only FDA-approved sports equipment proven to help protect the brain from the effects of repeated head impacts. The Q-collar is worn around the neck and applies light pressure to help limit brain movement during football-related head movements.
Old Miss running back Kewan Lacy will wear the Q-Collar this season. (Q collar)
SENATE ENACTS LANDMARK PROTECT COLLEGE SPORTS ACT, IGNORES SEC AND BIG TEN OPPOSITION WITH CLOCK TICKING
Mothers know best, as it was Lacy’s mother who actually found the Q collar and recommended it to Lacy.
“She found it, she saw other players playing with it and she brought it to my attention and did some digging and research and she thought it would just be beneficial for me and my brother to wear it,” Lacy said. “It’s helped me a lot, just trying to find different ways to protect myself, be as sharp as possible on the court and just maximize my playing time or the time I have on the court.
“I feel like there’s so much more out there that we can do to better help us as athletes protect our bodies. Gear like the Q-Collar, it’s the start of finding different ways to be safer and help play longer in the game.”
Already an All-American, Lacy now has a little extra protection to gain a few more yards in the trenches. With “special talent” Trinidad Chambliss back, along with a host of returning players, expectations are high for Lacy and the Rebels.
“Going into this year with our new staff that we’ve got and all the new pieces that we have, I feel like we just have to take it game by game and this year I feel like we can go even further,” he said.
Kewan Lacy of Ole Miss carries the ball for a touchdown against Miami in the second quarter during the College Football Playoff semifinal at the VRBO Fiesta Bowl at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona on January 8, 2026. (Chris Coduto/Getty Images)
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE Pakinomist APP
“We can close the deal. I just can’t wait.”
