Kewan Lacy can do it all, but his pass protection may be his strongest asset

Everyone with a pulse that wears Ole Miss colors understands the value of sophomore running back Kewan Lacy with his 1,464 yards rushing with 23 touchdowns that leads the nation and his 5.0 yards per carry on a workhorse 295 carries.

We also understand he is a surehanded receiver with 28 catches for 173 yards, several of which got QB Trinidad Chamblis out of harm’s way with dump off aerials when Trinidad was under duress from incoming defensive linemen.

But a part of his game that doesn’t get enough attention is his effectiveness in pass protection, taking on blitzers that get past the offensive line.

Kewan, it says here, is the best pass protector from the running back position since Deuce McAllister guarded Romaro Miller over 25 years ago.

“I played defense my whole life before college and I just take that aggressive mentality in blocking,” he stated. “I like it – it’s part of the job and I want to do it well.”

Kewan often gives up size to blitzers – he’s around 210 pounds and those LBs sometimes get up to 240-250 pounds coming at him full speed. Yet, he stymies them and stops them in their tracks normally.

“We do different drills every week of pass pro depending on the players on the teams we play so we know what the tendencies are of the blitzers,” he explained. “Then we go out there with the mentality that we are going to do our jobs.

“You have to go out there with the right mentality and with the mindset to be physical and attack.”

And attack he does. . . . .

The kind of year Kewan has had has brought with it a lot of notoriety and fame, both nationally and certainly among Rebel fans, but the softspoken Lacy has taken that all in stride and let that stay on the shelf for now.

“I’ve just been focusing on the season and trying to put all that on the back burner,” he closed. “After the season, I will analyze everything and take all of that in. I just take it day by day and try to focus on the main thing – winning games.”

Last year, when the Rebels supposedly had the most stacked roster in its history, they did not make the College Football Playoffs.

One of the main reasons was the run game was not up to CFP standards, frankly.

Kewan Lacy – and a quality offensive line – changed all that this year. The run game is now a threat and something opposing defenses have to honor and gameplan for. The balance this year of being able to run and pass effectively is in direct correlation to them being 13-1 so far.

But never forget the other ingredient that makes Lacy extremely valuable – pass protection.

He can give a master class in that aspect of the game.