Quinshon Judkins had a pair of 1,000-yard seasons at Ole Miss. But he wanted more and thinks he can find it at Ohio State.
Steve Helwagen
Quinshon Judkins had already had back-to-back 1,000-yard seasons for Ole Miss in the SEC. He could have stayed with the Rebels for one more banner season and probably jumped off to the NFL in 2025.
But Judkins decided to challenge himself to aim a little bit higher. He put his name into the transfer portal in early January after the Rebels' Peach Bowl win overPenn State and raised some eyebrows in when he decided to move on to Ohio State.
The Buckeyes had their own bell cow at running back with TreVeyon Henderson, although Henderson at that point was still debating whether to enter the NFL draft or come back to OSU for his senior season. So Judkins chose Ohio State knowing Henderson could still come back … and Henderson eventually opted to return to the Scarlet and Gray knowing full well that the talented Judkins was likely to cut into his workload.
And somehow – with the start of the 2024 Ohio State season just three weeks away -- the situation seems like it will work out.
The 6-foot, 219-pound Judkins was ranked as just the 53rd running back in the country when he signed with Ole Miss out of Pike Road, Ala., for its 2022 recruiting class. But he quickly proved himself to Rebels coach Lane Kiffin and the rest of the Ole Miss staff. He rushed for 1,567 yards and 16 touchdowns as a freshman, going for the second-most yards by any SEC freshman behind only Herschel Walker of Georgia in 1980.
He came back last year and rolled for 1,158 rushing yards and 15 touchdowns as a sophom*ore at Ole Miss. In two seasons in Oxford, Judkins started 18 games and logged and 14 100-yard games. His career high was a 214-yard game as a freshman at Arkansas in 2022.
Judkins joined the media after practice on Wednesday and shared some thoughts on preseason camp, where he is working with new OSU running backs coach Carlos Locklyn. (Locklyn coincidentally is also from the Montgomery, Ala., area as Judkins is.)
More From Quinshon Judkins
* On what he's working on this preseason -- "I just think, you know, continuing to work on my game overall and perfect my craft. I think (low pad level is) just being a running back in general, you know, how low you want to be to the ground as far as not having a high pad level and going through contact and stuff. I think that's definitely beneficial."
* On working with the offensive staff at Ohio State -- "You know, just with all our coaches, I think that they'll put us in the best positions to succeed on the field. And just with Chip Kelly and knowing that the offenses he's run in the past and how he's able to dial up different things, not using only one running back, but also two as well, so it's awesome to see."
* On being one of the veterans on this team -- "I'd moreso say just with me growing, getting older, being in college. I've seen that, you know, what it takes to get through camp and also like spring ball. You know, just the schedule of different things that as a freshman you come in, you don't really know what things are going to be like. But just getting older, you see how things work.
"Every day I know what the goal is. You know, we have meetings pre-practice, different things and installs that we want to work on for that day. You know, just my goals coming into each camp, that's something that I want to work on.
"Like I said, just continuing to be a great running back overall and just working on all things that I can."
* On whether he is concerned with his number of carries -- "My job is to come in and run the football and just be the best teammate that I can be to my teammates and support my team overall. I don't really focus on how many carries I get or things like that. I just come in and just do my job."
* On the play of the offensive line -- "Awesome. The offensive line is great, man. Just overall, each guy is super skilled and, you know, they're experienced, so they know what they're doing up front. So pretty good."
* On what younger backs and players in general need to learn -- "I think moreso just when they come out of high school and younger guys like that. They have to get acclimated to being around a team all the time and just knowing what it's like to play as one, you know, and just come in each day and continue to work. They may not be the best days for them, but they need to know what it's like to come in and work."
* On whether he has played as himself in the EA Sports College Football2025 video game -- "Actually, yes, I have. I played yesterday in the locker room, and I don't know how to work my spin move yet, so I'm trying to learn. I've heard about it from all my teammates. They're like, 'Bro, I use you every day' and all types of stuff, but it's been fun.
"Everybody else knows how to use it. But I don't."
* On when he developed the spin technique -- "Yeah, I've been doing that, you know, since I've grown up. I haven't just recently started playing football, so it's always been in the bag."
* On being used in various ways in the OSU offense -- "That's why I love Chip Kelly's offense, you know, just being able to be super versatile in the backfield and be able to do anything. That was one of the reasons why I was super excited to see him when he first came here."
* On being used as a pass catcher (he caught 37 passes in two years at Ole Miss) -- "I think definitely that's something that's in my bag. You know, I go out there, you can line me up anywhere on the field. I can run from the slot, backfield, it doesn't matter."
* On whether he and Henderson could be on the field together – "I don't know. We'll see."
* On whether they have practiced with he and Henderson on the field together – "I don't know. We'll see (smiles)."
* On what a look like that could present a defense – "It's definitely a huge challenge. I think that's one of the great things about being able to run that in the offense is that defenses don't know what you'll be able to run. I think we're both just players that complement each other in every single way."
* On the difference between Ole Miss and Ohio State for him – "Nothing, man. I think I have the same mentality. I'm a part of the Brotherhood. I look forward to going out there and doing my best to help my team and be able to succeed. So, that's my goal."
