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The University of Mississippi Athletics
Kewan Lacy Named Doak Walker Award Finalist
11/25/2025 | Football
DALLAS – Ole Miss football sophomore running back Kewan Lacy has been named one of three finalists for the 2025 Doak Walker National Running Back Award, as announced by the PwC SMU Athletic Forum on Tuesday morning.
Lacy is the first Doak Walker finalist in the history of Ole Miss football, and he is joined on the final cut this year by Missouri's Ahmad Hardy and Notre Dame's Jeremiyah Love.
Lacy has been one of the best rushers in the nation all season long for the 10-1 Rebels, currently holding a season line of 231 attempts for 1,136 yards and 19 touchdowns. Those 19 rushing scores shattered the previous single-season record at Ole Miss of 16 set by Quinshon Judkins in 2022, and it also gave him the all-purpose touchdown record of 17 that was set four times previously by Judkins (2022, '23), Brandon Bolden (2010) and Deuce McAllister (2000).
At 19 rushing scores, Lacy is already tied for 10th in Ole Miss career history, and he is one rushing touchdown shy of tying for 10th in SEC single-season history and becoming one of only 12 rushers in conference history to have 20 rushing scores in a year.
Elsewhere in the Ole Miss record books, Lacy has also broken the single-season Ole Miss record for most points by a non-kicker at 114, sitting fourth currently behind kickers Caden Davis (129, 2024), Jonathan Nichols (124, 2003) and Gary Wunderlich (120, 2015). His 231 rushing attempts currently rank fourth, while his 1,136 yards rank sixth – only the 11th 1,000-yard season in Ole Miss history, with Lacy becoming the eighth Rebel to do so.
In the FBS ranks, Lacy leads the nation in rushing touchdowns (19) and leads the SEC in all-purpose TD (19; FBS No. 3), total points (114; FBS No. 4) and points per game (10.4; FBS No. 4). Elsewhere, Lacy ranks sixth nationally in rushing yards (1,136), eighth in yards per game (103.3) and 13th in all-purpose yards per game (115.9).
Per PFF's advanced stats, Lacy leads the SEC and ranks second nationally in missed tackles forced (84) and ranks fourth in yards after contact (809). On the year, Lacy has five games with at least 100 yards rushing, six with multiple rushing touchdowns, and has scored at least once in 10 of 11 games played.
Last time out against Florida, Lacy had a historic outing with a career-high 224 yards and three touchdowns on 31 carries – the eighth-most rushing yards in Ole Miss single-game history and the most by any Rebel rusher since Brandon Bolden vs. Fresno State in 2010 (228). For his efforts, Lacy was named the Maxwell Award National Player of the Week, the Walter Camp FBS National Offensive Player of the Week and the SEC Co-Offensive Player of the Week.
Lacy's 200-yard performance vs. Florida was the first by a Rebel rusher since the Arkansas game in 2022, when Judkins (214) and Zach Evans (207) both broke 200, and his 224 yards rank as the third-best single-game total in the SEC this season behind two performances by Missouri's Ahmad Hardy (300 vs. Mississippi State, 250 vs. Louisiana).
The winner of the 2025 Doak Walker Award will be announced live on ESPN during The Home Depot College Football Awards on Fri., Dec. 12. The formal presentation of the award will take place at the annual banquet scheduled for Jan. 30, 2026, in Dallas.
The Doak Walker Award is a member of the National College Football Awards Association (NCFAA), which encompasses college football's most prestigious awards. The NCFAA's 25 awards have honored more than 950 recipients since 1935. For more information, visit SMU.edu/DoakWalkerAward.
2025 Doak Walker Award Finalists
Ahmad Hardy – Missouri
Kewan Lacy – Ole Miss
Jeremiyah Love – Notre Dame
Lacy is the first Doak Walker finalist in the history of Ole Miss football, and he is joined on the final cut this year by Missouri's Ahmad Hardy and Notre Dame's Jeremiyah Love.
Lacy has been one of the best rushers in the nation all season long for the 10-1 Rebels, currently holding a season line of 231 attempts for 1,136 yards and 19 touchdowns. Those 19 rushing scores shattered the previous single-season record at Ole Miss of 16 set by Quinshon Judkins in 2022, and it also gave him the all-purpose touchdown record of 17 that was set four times previously by Judkins (2022, '23), Brandon Bolden (2010) and Deuce McAllister (2000).
At 19 rushing scores, Lacy is already tied for 10th in Ole Miss career history, and he is one rushing touchdown shy of tying for 10th in SEC single-season history and becoming one of only 12 rushers in conference history to have 20 rushing scores in a year.
Elsewhere in the Ole Miss record books, Lacy has also broken the single-season Ole Miss record for most points by a non-kicker at 114, sitting fourth currently behind kickers Caden Davis (129, 2024), Jonathan Nichols (124, 2003) and Gary Wunderlich (120, 2015). His 231 rushing attempts currently rank fourth, while his 1,136 yards rank sixth – only the 11th 1,000-yard season in Ole Miss history, with Lacy becoming the eighth Rebel to do so.
In the FBS ranks, Lacy leads the nation in rushing touchdowns (19) and leads the SEC in all-purpose TD (19; FBS No. 3), total points (114; FBS No. 4) and points per game (10.4; FBS No. 4). Elsewhere, Lacy ranks sixth nationally in rushing yards (1,136), eighth in yards per game (103.3) and 13th in all-purpose yards per game (115.9).
Per PFF's advanced stats, Lacy leads the SEC and ranks second nationally in missed tackles forced (84) and ranks fourth in yards after contact (809). On the year, Lacy has five games with at least 100 yards rushing, six with multiple rushing touchdowns, and has scored at least once in 10 of 11 games played.
Last time out against Florida, Lacy had a historic outing with a career-high 224 yards and three touchdowns on 31 carries – the eighth-most rushing yards in Ole Miss single-game history and the most by any Rebel rusher since Brandon Bolden vs. Fresno State in 2010 (228). For his efforts, Lacy was named the Maxwell Award National Player of the Week, the Walter Camp FBS National Offensive Player of the Week and the SEC Co-Offensive Player of the Week.
Lacy's 200-yard performance vs. Florida was the first by a Rebel rusher since the Arkansas game in 2022, when Judkins (214) and Zach Evans (207) both broke 200, and his 224 yards rank as the third-best single-game total in the SEC this season behind two performances by Missouri's Ahmad Hardy (300 vs. Mississippi State, 250 vs. Louisiana).
The winner of the 2025 Doak Walker Award will be announced live on ESPN during The Home Depot College Football Awards on Fri., Dec. 12. The formal presentation of the award will take place at the annual banquet scheduled for Jan. 30, 2026, in Dallas.
The Doak Walker Award is a member of the National College Football Awards Association (NCFAA), which encompasses college football's most prestigious awards. The NCFAA's 25 awards have honored more than 950 recipients since 1935. For more information, visit SMU.edu/DoakWalkerAward.
2025 Doak Walker Award Finalists
Ahmad Hardy – Missouri
Kewan Lacy – Ole Miss
Jeremiyah Love – Notre Dame
Players Mentioned
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