The Ole Miss running back has paused conversations with former teammates and coaches while preparing for Saturday’s top-10 showdown.
OXFORD, Miss. — Kewan Lacy paused, shrugged his shoulders and gave a direct answer when asked about former Ole Miss coach Lane Kiffin.
“I really don’t have a relationship with him,” Lacy said.
Lacy is not interested in spending LSU week discussing Kiffin’s return to Oxford.
“I just want to be focused on the game plan and the game,” Lacy said.
The Ole Miss running back has maintained contact with some former teammates and assistant coaches who followed Kiffin to Baton Rouge.
“I won’t really talk to them until after the season,” Lacy said.
His attention is now on a game in which he could play one of the biggest roles.
Lacy has scored a rushing touchdown in 11 consecutive games—the second-longest active streak in the FBS and the longest by an Ole Miss player in available records dating to 1956.
After suffering a thigh bruise against Louisville, Lacy returned to rush for 87 yards and two touchdowns against Charlotte. He has produced 166 yards from scrimmage and three scores through the Rebels’ first two games.
LSU will present a much tougher test.
Ole Miss will need Lacy to break tackles, finish runs and keep the offense ahead of the chains. If the Rebels can consistently create manageable situations on second and third down, it will open more of the playbook for quarterback Trinidad Chambliss.
There will also be plenty of familiarity on the field. LSU’s defense features former Rebels Princewill Umanmielen and T.J. Dottery, two players who practiced against Lacy before following Kiffin to Baton Rouge.
Lacy knows some of the defenders trying to tackle him. They also know what Ole Miss’ star running back can do when he reaches the second level.
Once the game begins, those previous relationships will not matter.
No. 8 Ole Miss and No. 7 LSU are both undefeated entering their SEC opener. Saturday’s result could become important later in the SEC championship and College Football Playoff races.
The atmosphere inside Vaught-Hemingway Stadium will be emotional, but Lacy’s approach has remained calm and businesslike. He is not attacking former coaches or trading comments with former teammates.
He is preparing to play football.
Lacy’s message was short and clear: conversations can wait, reunions can wait and the outside noise can wait.
LSU cannot.
